Class Vs Character
by Side1ways
Summary: Set in 1917, Kendall is faced with a major decision that will not only affected his own life, but also his family's. Taking the risk, Kendall ends up working for one of the wealthiest families in California, the Diamonds. Now Kendall must try to navigate both a new life, as well as his crush on the boss' son. A crush that could very well cost him his freedom if discovered.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Hi Guys and welcome to a new story! So, I'm calling this Class vs Character at the moment, but this may change in the future. So, give this a read and let me know what you think! I would just like to point out that I know very little about this part of history, so I've decided to set this in a different universe to our own, so nothing is wrong :P**

* * *

Summer always meant one thing for the Diamond Family, and that was money. Well, more money than the family were already making, but money nonetheless. You see, the Diamond Family were easily one of the wealthiest families in California, due to their acres of farmland and vineyards. Since the late 1600's, the family had set up a small vineyard, and over the 100 years since then, the families wealth grew at an exponential rate.

What was once a small vineyard soon became acres, and what started with only grapes soon became a factory of almond, walnut and even strawberry production, each only furthering the families wealth. And this was only on the agricultural side. The family were always quick to accept new inventions, trying to try the most efficient ways to produce and sell more.

Now, in 1917, it had reached the point where none of the Diamond Family even consider working the fields any more. Why would they, when they could pay the peasants to do it for them. Instead, the family reaped the rewards of the inherited land, and live off the vast wealth the family had collected, throwing parties, and involving themselves in the politics of the local area, if only to increase the wealth they possess. Really, the family only had one concern big enough for them to warrant any kind of worry and that was the creation of a lineage, a way for them to secure that the family would continue and their business would only grow further.

And this is where the current Diamond Family has stagnated. You see, in 1896 Henry and Brooke Diamond became the proud parents of their first born child James. Even from a young age, everyone admired James' beauty and intelligence, so the worry for an heir was never an issue. Both parents believed that girls would queue from miles just to witness the beauty of the boy, so the chance of him marrying would be high. Of course, the suitor would need to be evaluated, to see if they were worthy of not only marrying into the family, but also marrying into the wealth and status that it came with.

And so many noble women queued and were evaluated, and every single one of them was shot down by James. Every single woman presented to James was turned down, due to a unique flaw and a different reason. Every time, James managed to pick up on something that was slightly off, something that was enough for him to raise a complaint to his father about, something he knew would get them removed from the long list of suitors.

In reality of course, there was nothing wrong with these girls, but to James they all shared something that he wasn't attracted to. That of course, was their gender. James wasn't attracted to woman, and no amount of make-up or making out would be able to change that. He often found himself staring at the noble woman's guard due to their muscular frame, or even their brothers on many occasions. And on many occasions, he even found himself with some of them, sharing a moment or two, while they offered a 'tour' of their grounds.

Of course, James wasn't really attracted to any of them, and was completely against much more than a quick session, so that kept them apart. The other major factor was that it was illegal to have homosexual relations with another man during this time, with the consequences being up to 15 years in prison, so James knew that the reward wasn't worth the risk, especially if that risk would occur on a regular basis. And so since the age of 16, James had followed the same pattern to avoid getting married. He'd find a flaw in his suitor, one he knew his father would find repulsive, possibly sleep with a bodyguard or brother, and then wait until this father introduced the next girl to repeat the process.

* * *

Of course, life wasn't this way for everyone within America, especially for one family in Wichita, Kansas. In 1898, George and Jennifer Knight gave birth to their very own baby boy, who they named Kendall. While the family were nowhere near as prosperous as the Diamonds, they were happy, living off the income George produced. In 1905, Jennifer gave birth to their second born, a small girl named Katie, and for the year following that Kendall's life continued to be superb.

However, in 1906 George accepted a job in one of the local mines, knowing it would provide financial stability for his family from the hazard pay alone. Jennifer wasn't happy about the work, knowing that if George died, she'd be left alone with a 8 and 1 year old to raise, but George managed to persuade her, stating the benefits the income for the family would have.

But as we all know, it's called hazard pay for a reason, and when the mine collapsed, the family was left without a father, but also without an income. Kendall and Jennifer grieved George's loss while trying their best to raise Katie. Kendall worked from a young age, trying to provide any kind of income for his family. For a while the small boy worked as a chimney sweep, but he quickly became too old for that. Kendall then started to work as a stable boy, for one of the local families on the outskirts of the city.

Throughout all these years, the income the boy generated was hardly enough to support both him and his family, meaning he had to choose. Most nights Jennifer and Katie ate, and while their meals weren't by any means extravagant, it was enough for them to survive of off. Kendall always made sure of that, even if it meant he would starve. And any times he did but he was safe in the knowledge that his family would eat.

And while Kendall worked for a wealthy family, he was treated with the least respect possible. They family knew of the position Kendall was in, and even then, they would only provide a meal for him very couple of days, knowing the boy wouldn't argue, out of fear of being fired. They would laugh as Kendall mucked out the stables and would often return with their horses filthy from a ride, knowing that Kendall would have to clean and groom then.

He would often work late into the evening, and when he tried to turn in for bed, the residents of the house would be making noise, only to piss him off further. So what if they stayed up until 1:00am, the next day they would just sleep in. Kendall however would have to be up at six, mucking out and cleaning the horses once again, per the request of his superior.

So when the family revealed they were selling their horses in 1917, Kendall was both relieved and horrified. While he wouldn't have to work for such a horrible family any longer, his main source of income was lost, an act that would soon leave him and his family starving.

And this is where our story begins.


	2. Chapter 2: Opportunity

**Hi guys, so I thought I'd upload this to give you a taste of what the actual story is like. Thank you to the Guest and Winterchild11 for commenting on the prologue already! Also, I just wanted to say that this is the first type I've actually written a story since about January, so I'm sorry if anything is slightly off :D**

* * *

"What do you mean they're selling the horses!" Kendall asked, as he stared at the older man in shock.

"The Morgan's are running low on money, Mr Knight" the old, snobby guy said. Kendall never bothered to learn his name, even though he was technically his superior. "Which means that they are selling the horses in order to generate some income" he continued, as Kendall look mortified.

"But what about my job?" the 19 year old replied, not fully processing anything at the moment. He still couldn't get over the fact that were selling the horses.

"Well, you'll have to find a new one, won't you Mr Knight. Now, go collect your things and leave. The Morgan's said to return tomorrow for your wages" The old man said, a smug look on his face as he walked away. Kendall knew he'd never like him, but this was just taking the piss. Huffing as the result of this, Kendall hung his head as he walked back to the manor, mostly reviewing what the hell he was going to do now. All Kendall had done since the age of 10 was work with the horses on the Morgan's estate, so this was the only thing he was actually experienced in.

When he stepped inside the servant's entrance, all the maids and cooks stopped to stare at him as he made his way over to his bunk. It wasn't like Kendall had a lot of stuff, but the time it took him to pack was long enough for him to hear what he needed. "Bless him." He heard one of the maids say, as she chatted with her friends.

"At least it's not us. I'd rather see him go, then lose my own job" Another maid said, causing a hum of agreement to follow. When he was finally packed, he left the building without saying a word to anyone. Instead, he felt the eyes of all his former colleagues stare him down as he walked down the drive of the estate, his head hanging low as he considered what he was supposed to do now.

Kendall managed to catch a wagon back to town, as he watched all the cars drive past, thinking to himself about how one day he'd own one of his own. Of course, the problem with a car is that you couldn't just jump on the back without the driver knowing, but when he owned his own, he wouldn't need to worry about such trivial things. He hopped off the wagon when he was nearing his home and continued the rest of is journey on foot, still imagining his perfect life.

 _'I'd own a huge manor, even bigger than the Morgan's, and I'd have loads of land to go with it. My stables would have lots of horses, and each one of them would be loved and cared for'_ Kendall thought as he stepped up to the apartment block his family lived in. Katie and Jennifer shared a one bed flat, in which they'd managed to squeeze a second bed into. They'd also managed to fit a cheap stove and oven into the room, for when they could cook. He walked in to see his mother and Katie laid on the floor, as they listened to the radio, completely oblivious to the outside world.

They liked to do this when they had returned from work. Kendall's income wasn't enough for them to live off alone, so both Jennifer and Katie also had jobs. Both Katie and Jennifer worked as seamstresses at the local clothing show, which gave them pittances, so Jennifer also worked a second job at the local bakery. On some nights, she'd manage to steal a loaf of stale bread for them to eat, but that was often a rare occasion. As Kendall shut the door behind him, both girls turned to face him, huge smiles growing on both their faces.

"Kendall, honey, what are you doing home?" Jennifer asked as she made her way over to him and pulled him into a hug.

"The Morgan's didn't need to stable hand anymore" was all Kendall replied with, throwing his hat onto the table.

"Oh sweetie" was all Jennifer could say, as she continued to hug him.

"I'm so sorry" Kendall began, before completely breaking down in his mother's arms. The whole day had finally caught up with him, as did all the pressure that came with it. "I don't know what money I'm going to get tomorrow, but I'll find another job." He continued to cry, as Jennifer rubs his back in an attempt to comfort him.

"Kendall honey, we're doing fine. Don't worry about us" Jennifer replied, only as her stomach rumbled on cue, as if it was listening. Kendall immediately looked up at his mother, her wearing a sheepish grin on her face.

"When was the last time you ate?" Kendall asked, starting to pull out of the hug. Katie instantly looked down at the floor, as if trying to avoid answering the question, Jennifer quickly following suit. Jennifer stomach rumbled once again before she finally answered.

"A few days ago. The general store rose the prices" Jennifer replied sheepishly as Kendall broke down into tears once again. "It's not your fault honey, you're trying your best to provide for us" Jennifer quickly tried to console him, but Kendall shook his head.

"I would have worker harder" Kendall sobbed, as Jennifer held her son in her arms once more.

"Katie honey, why do you go see if the bakery has thrown out any bread that we could eat?" Jennifer asked, causing Katie to drag herself from the floor, trying to avoid looking at Kendall. Katie knew that her mother didn't want to see her to see her brother like this, so she quickly followed orders and made her way out the room. The rest of the evening was spent with Kendall trying to recover from the horrible day he was having. Luckily, Katie was able to find a small loaf of bread from the shops so he knew that his family wouldn't go hungry tonight, but all he could think about was the last time they had eaten before this.

Kendall knew that he needed to find a job tomorrow.

He spent the whole of the next morning trying his hardest to find any sort of job in Wichita. He asked around every store to see if they needed any kind of assistance, but everywhere turned him down. Nobody needed a stable hand, and most of the manors in the area either already had one, or just ignored his plea for work. The walk back to the Morgan's manor was filled with rather depressing thoughts. Sure, he was going to get his final set of wages today, but he knew if the Morgan's could screw him over, then they would big time. Plus, the money he got today wouldn't be enough for Katie and Jennifer to live off forever.

He'd managed to jump on a wagon most of the way, but when he arrived at the gate of the manor, he took a deep breathe, knowing he was going to have to face his former employer. His walk up the drive was brisk, as he hoped he could shorten the amount of time he had to spend on this dreaded estate.

Knocking on the door, he took one final deep breathe, before it opened.

* * *

"But Mr Diamond, you can't be serious?" Mr Morgan asked, as he held his head in his arms. "This business deal is the only thing that is keeping my family afloat."

"You should have thought about that before you gambled away all your money then, shouldn't you Mr Morgan" Mr Diamond responded, a short sharp tone. "And I'm completely serious…" Mr Diamond continued, but by this point, James had zoned out. Apparently, James was supposed to take over the family business, and was therefore supposed to learn how to deal with the family's business partners, especially when they were costing them money, and not earning it. And this father believed that a perfect example of this would be to drag James half way across the country to Wichita, instead of keeping him in California.

Not that James was complaining at this particular moment.

While his father was battling it out with Mr Morgan, James was checking out someone who had just arrived on the estate. The man was obviously frustrated about something, the way he paced up and down gave that way, and James couldn't help but notice how his muscles flex every time he threw his arms into the air.

"Excuse me for a second" James said, turning his attention back to his father and Mr Morgan, who was starting to sweat quite rapidly. The 21 year old made his way out of the room, where he heard the shouting begin.

"You can't be serious! This is nothing!" the blond man shouted at the butler James was greeted with when he first arrived.

"Mr Morgan said that's all you are owed Mr Knight." The butler replied, his voice level but James could note the pretentiousness within it.

"Bollocks, I'm owed at least twice this much! I worked for two months without being paid properly"

"That is what you are owed, minus the expenses you owed us, Mr Knight. Did you consider that?"

"Expenses? What expenses?"

"Food, water, gas. The list continues Mr Knight. Need I go on." And that's when James decided to intervene. He could see that the blond was starting to tear up and couldn't help but feel a small pang in his heart. Clearing his throat, James made his presence known to the both of them. The butler quickly turned to James, and bowed, muttering a "Mr Diamond" in respect. The blond was quick to follow suit and James noticed how he also wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Is everything alright out here?" James asked, causing the butler to nod, while the blond shook his head vigorously.

"Yes, Mr Diamond, there's no need to concern yourself, Mr Knight was just leaving. Weren't you Mr Knight." The butler replied, turning to stare at Kendall. Instead of moving further away, Kendall took a step closer to the manor, as if to prove a point. He didn't say anything, but instead placed his hand out in front of him and raised his eyebrow towards the older man. The butler turned to James with a small smile on his face, and when James raised his eye brow as well, the older man's resolve crumbled. Trying to remain as professional as possible in front of James, the butler straightened out his suit as he spoke.

"Very well Mr Knight" was all he said, before mumbling something under his breath and walking away. Kendall instantly gained a smug look on his face, before turning to meet James' gaze.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that sir" Kendall said, taking another bow towards James to show his respect. "What was that about anyway...?" James replied lingering on the last bit of the sentence, hoping to catch the blond's name while taking a step closer. He couldn't quite pinpoint it, but there was something that was enticing him towards the smaller male.

"Kendall Sir, and the Morgan's owed me my wages, nothing more sir" Kendall replied, a small blush creeping onto his face due to James' proximity.

"Wages? You work here?"

"Worked, sir. The Morgan's have sold their horses, so my services as a stable hand were no longer required" Kendall replied, looking up at James once more. He couldn't help but notice James' hazel eyes that seemed to perfect reflect the sun this moment. If it wasn't for James speaking up, Kendall would have continued to stare.

"A stable hand, you say. I'm sure I could convince my father to hire you. That is, if you don't have another job already" the hazel eyed man said, taking Kendall completely by shock. If we were being honest, it was safe to say that James was shocked as well. He'd seemed to jump at the chance of hiring Kendall, when he hardly knew anything about the boy. What James was certain of though, was that he was instinctively drawn to the younger male and wanted desperately to spend more time with him. Just as it was, James has having a hard time controlling himself.

It took Kendall a few seconds to fully process what James had said, before he decided to respond. "Well, that's mighty kind of you sir, but I couldn't expect that from you" the blond male replied, his blush spreading further across his face, as he tried to avoid meeting James' eyes.

"Nonsense" James said, once again capturing the smaller man's attention. "We need a new stable hand anyway. It would be no trouble" he continued to bluff, hoping Kendall would buy it. When Kendall finally looked up at James, his face was mostly red and James could see the dimples that had formed due to his smile.

"Well, then I accept sir" Kendall replied, once again taking a bow towards James. In an attempt to gain physical contact, James extended his hand out for a handshake, one that Kendall was quick to take, and James couldn't help but notice how rough, yet soft his hands were. Of course, James' emotions were going haywire at that particular point, so he couldn't understand much but what he did understand is that he wanted blond around a lot more.

"Perfect. Meet us at the train station in two hours…" James began, but Kendall quickly interrupted without thinking.

"Train station? Your manor's not in state?" he asked, at that moment forgetting every single piece of social etiquette he was taught.

"No, our manor is in California. That won't be a problem will it?" James replied, seeing how sceptical Kendall was. Kendall was reluctant to respond at first, causing James to speak up once again. "Tell you what. If you're at the train station in two hours, then I'll know you want the job. If not, then" James replied, shrugging his shoulders at the end of the sentence. At that moment, the butler returned with Kendall money in hand. Saying nothing, he handed over the money, before turning to James.

"Mr Diamond, your father is requesting your presence." The older man said, causing Kendall to slowly retreat away from the door. Before James could speak, the older man shut the door, blocking James' view of Kendall entirely and extended his hand out to show James back into the room. When James looked out of the window, Kendall was nowhere in sight.

James could only hope that Kendall would take the offer.

* * *

When Kendall returned home, his mind was racing with the offer James had just given him, and Jennifer was quick to notice. "What's wrong honey? Did they give you the wages?" Jennifer asked, as she patted a space for Kendall to sit down her to her.

"Yeah, I got my wages" Kendall began, thinking how to phrase this. "But I was offered a job" he continued, his voice filled with nerves. Jennifer however took no notice of that, instead throwing her arms around Kendall was she congratulated him.

"Oh honey, that's great news! Where is it?!" Jennifer asked, her voice filled with joy.

"California" was all Kendall could say, his voice completely void of any emotion.

"Oh" he heard Jennifer say, before the room settled into an awkward silence. Kendall was completely unsure of what to say, having absolutely no idea what his mother thought of the situation. She was a very hard person to read sometimes.

"It's with the Diamonds" Kendall said mindlessly, before the room returned to it's awkward state, the only noises being the two of the shuffling on the bed to get comfy or them breathing. A minute later, Jennifer finally spoke.

"You should go for it" she concluded, her voice stable and absolute.

"But what about you and Katie?" Kendall quickly shot back.

"Kendall, you can't spend your entire life worrying about Katie and I. We can look after ourselves." Jennifer said, causing Kendall to stare at her wide eyed, as if she said the most insane thing in the world. Of course, to Kendall, she had.

"But you're starving as it is, with my help. If I don't help you…"

"We'll be fine Kendall. You need to start looking after yourself and start enjoying life. Katie and I will get by. I can find another job…"

"Then you'll be working three jobs…"

"And I'm sure Katie won't mind if we got without hot water for a few weeks. I mean, summer's starting anyway" Jennifer continued, finishing her sentence with a chuckle. She knew it was going to be hard, but she'd do anything to see that her kids both got the best out of life. She'd do exactly the same for Katie. "Mum, I can't ask you to do that" Kendall finally said, causing Jennifer to take his hands into her own. "Kendall honey." She began, making sure that he was paying attention to her.

"You've done nothing but provide for this family for close to 12 years. All the money you've ever earned has come back to Katie and I. Now it's you're turn to enjoy life."

"And you're not asking us to do anything for you, we want to" Kendall heard Katie's voice speak up. He looked over at the apartment door to see her stood there.

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough to get the gist. You should do this Kendall. Go enjoy life, like dad would have wanted you to do. Mum and I will be fine" Katie said, as she made her way over to the bed, and setting herself next to Kendall. Jennifer was quick to pull the pair of them into a hug, one in which they settled for a few minutes.

"Well, you best pack. California's a long way away" Jennifer finally spoke up, pulling out of the hug. Kendall could both hear and see the sadness she was holding in, but she did her best to try and contain it, something Kendall was grateful for. An hour and a half later, and Kendall was sat at the train station, waiting for James and Mr Diamond to show up.

He only hoped James had convinced his father that Kendall should have a job.

* * *

 **So there we go! I have a lot of things planned for this story, so let me know what you guys think!**


	3. Chapter 3: One Way Ticket

**Hi guys and welcome to chapter 3 of Class Vs Character! I am so excited to get this story going, as I am loving writing it so far so I can't wait for you guys to read it!**

 **So, as you can probably tell, this is following a new writing style for me, which is a third person perspective instead of first person, and I have to say that I am enjoying writing like this, as I feel like it's giving me a lot more freedom!**

 **I just want to point out with this as well that racism and sexism are a No Go Zone for this story. Obviously, 1917 wasn't the most forward thinking of times, so I just want to say that I will not be tackling that at all. The only real issue in this will be homophobia, cause I'd rather not offend anyone unnecessarily.**

 **Anyway, enough with the deep stuff, and let's crack on shall we? Oh, and does everyone get the reference in the chapter name?**

* * *

Kendall wasn't quite sure how long he waited at the train station for. One, because his nerves seemed to distort any perception of time that he had, and two, because he'd never been taught to properly read a clock, so that didn't help. He sat in the station, counting the trains that passed, wondering what it will be like to actually travel on one, as well as what the rest of America looked like. Other than seeing pictures in newspapers, he had no idea how the world looked, and because the pictures were in black and white, it was difficult for him to gain any kind of perception. That fact made him both excited and sceptical.

What felt like thousands of people passed through the station, some wearing professional clothing as they stepped off the train, and were instantly surrounded by their guards, while others rushed over to see family members for what Kendall assumed to be the first time in ages. It made him think back to his own family, and what their reunion would be like, if it every happened. He tried to think of the best outcome, seeing his mother and Katie looking beautiful in the long flowing dresses of the current style, but more importantly, looking well fed.

Of course, his thoughts instantly bounced to the scene of the two women starving without him.

"What was I thinking?" Kendall muttered to himself as the thoughts continued. Instantly overwhelmed with guilt, he stood up from the bench he was sat on and tried to make his way towards the door of the train station. He couldn't do this. He couldn't leave his family to starve while he was enjoying life. Kendall was so close to the door when he felt someone grab his wrist, effectively stopping him in his tracks. He stared down at the hand first, and his eyes followed the arm up to it's owner, seeing it was James. Finally connecting eyes with the hazel eyed man, James flashed him a small smile.

"Kendall, there you are. I was just looking for you. I was worried you wouldn't make it" James said, and that sentence alone made Kendall's heart flutter slightly. He was unsure of the reason, but the thought of James being worried for him, made his heart swell with happiness.

"Ahh, there you are James. Come on, we're boarding" a deep voice spoke up from behind James, snapping Kendall out of his little trace.

"Father, I'd like to introduce you to Kendall, the stable hand" James said, finally releasing his hand from Kendall's wrist. Kendall felt like he would have whimpered from it's loss, but he managed to contain himself.

"Mr Diamond" Kendall said, bowing as he was always taught. _'You always bow to the upper classes as you greet them Kendall. Remember that, and you'll go far in life'_ His mother's words radiated in his head, and the thought of her made the guilt return.

"Ahh, yes. James told me about you. He told me you were responsible for the Morgan's horses. I have to say, they were in a fine condition" Mr Diamond said, once again snapping Kendall out of his thought process. "You worked there for 7 years was it?"

"9, sir" Kendall responded, causing Mr Diamond to chuckle.

"Well, I'd certainly accept someone with your expertise onto the estate. It seems our stable hand is doing a sub-par job compared to you." Mr Diamond finished, before walking towards the train, leaving Kendall and James stood there.

"Come on then" James said, nudging Kendall slightly as he began to walk to the train as well. Grabbing his bag from the floor, Kendall followed James, until he noticed that they were heading towards first class.

"Sorry, sir. But where I am sat? I've never been on a train before" Kendall said, blushing slightly as he said it. He saw James' eyes widened for a split second, before he spoke up.

"Join me in first class. After all, I want your first train experience to give you a good impression" James replied, his signature smile returning to his face. One that made Kendall's blush worsen. James chuckled at that fact, before leading them onto their carriage.

Kendall was in awe, already noticing how the carriage was easily bigger that the room his mother and sister shared. Small light fixtures hung from the ceiling, and the seats were made by a soft red velvet, one that Kendall couldn't help but run is hands over. The inside of the carriage seemed to be made mostly out a glossy wood, he'd only seen in the Morgan's home, and the floor was lined with a soft carpet. It seems that the carriage was ready for a long journey, as small rooms were present at the back, and when Kendall looked in, they all contained beds. Walking past the rooms, Kendall reached the front of the carriage which seemed to have almost a communal area, with two sofas set facing each other on both sides under the windows.

"Come Kendall, take a seat. The train will be pulling off any minute now" Mr Diamond said, gesturing to the sofa opposite him. No one else appeared to be in the carriage, so he assumed the Diamonds must have rented it out.

"Father, Kendall told me that he's never been on a train before" James said, as the pair of them sat opposite Mr Diamond, who was not afraid to show his shock at James' statement.

"Really Kendall?"

"Yes, sir. I've never left Wichita if in being perfectly honest." He replied, causing Mr Diamond to chuckle slightly.

"Then this will be quite an experience for you Kendall. We'll be travelling over four other states before we reach California. Then when we reach Oakland, it's a car journey back to the estate. It's going be to about a 2 day journey at best" Mr Diamond explained, causing Kendall's eyes to widen in return. He hadn't quite comprehended how far away California was, and thinking about it now, it only made his feelings about leaving Jennifer and Katie worsen, knowing if anything did go wrong, he wouldn't be there to help them. Obviously, his emotions were shown visually as well, as James spoke up next.

"Kendall, is everything alright?" he asked, causing Kendall to snap out of his daze, something that was happening quite often recently.

"Yeah, sorry sir. I just didn't realise how far we were going" Kendall replied, causing James to place his hand onto the top of Kendall's arm as a show of support. Kendall couldn't help but blush at the action, while James' dad spoke up with a chuckle.

"It's perfectly fine, Kendall. It's always difficult for me to leave my wife when I go on business trips, but whatever happens, I always remember that she'll be ok while I'm gone." Mr Diamond replied, but that didn't help Kendall, as he knew his family might not be as lucky.

"Why don't you go and have a sleep Kendall. You may feel better after you've rested. I can imagine today has been difficult for you" James said, slowly rubbing his hand up and down Kendall's arm in support. Again, Kendall blushed, before nodding.

"Of course sir. And I just wanted to say thank you for this opportunity." The blond replied, earning a nod from both James and his father. Kendall bowed towards the two of them, before grabbing his bag and making his way towards one of the rooms. It seems James' father had claimed the one right at the back, so Kendall decided to take the one closest to the front. That way, if anything went horribly wrong, only James may hear it and not his father. After all, he didn't need to screw up a job he'd just got.

He set his bag down on the floor, as he stared out the window, watching the landscape change in front of his very eyes. "Happy thoughts" he mumbled to himself before settling into the bed provided for him. He was instantly overcome with a warmth and comfort he was unfamiliar with, and while that put him on edge briefly, he was soon overcome with the sleep he didn't realise he needed.

* * *

When Kendall woke from his slumber, the sun was in the sky so there was no clear indication of how much sleep he'd actually gotten. Well apart from the fact that he felt well rested. He was dazed for a few seconds as to his surroundings, wondering how he'd managed to end up in such as place, but he was quickly reminded when he heard a knock on his door, as well as familiar voice.

"Kendall, are you up?" James voice spoke through the door, and for a moment, Kendall gained a small smile on his face.

"One moment sir" Kendall called back through the door, as he pulled himself from the bed and proceeded to get dressed in some new clothes. He answered the door to find James leaning against the door frame, and his eyes instantly went to his bicep with was bulging due to James' position. "What can I do for you sir?" Kendall asked, trying to avert his eyes as much as possible, but ultimately failing.

"Breakfast is ready, and I was wondering if you wanted any? Father and I have already eaten, but I thought it was about time I woke you. It's gone 10 o'clock" James replied, causing Kendall to flush a bright red. One, due to the embarrassment of sleeping in so late, and two due to the fact that James cared enough about him to remind him to eat.

Kendall simply nodded at James' request, causing James to step away from the door and lead him towards the front of the carriage. On the tables in between the sofas sat what Kendall saw as mountains of food, each plate filled with something unique and most of it he hadn't seen before. His face lit up at the sight, before his hardwired social etiquette come into play.

"Sir, I can't eat this" he began, turning back to face James, a solemn look on his face. "This was made for you, and your father. It would be rude of me to take it." James was stunned into silence for a brief second, shocked by Kendall's response. He'd never had anyone to hesitate when being offered food and wasn't quite sure how to proceed. Kendall was looking everywhere but James and the food, and James couldn't help but feel that something was slightly off with Kendall.

"Kendall, like I said, Father and I have already eaten so this food would only go to waste if left. Plus, I offered it to you so if anything, it would be rude for you to refuse" James said, hoping that he wouldn't insult Kendall with the last sentence. The last thing James wanted was to further Kendall's clear discomfort.

"I'm sorry Sir" Kendall replied, looking at James with a small smile. James just chuckled and shook his head, before guiding him and Kendall down onto the seats, sitting opposite each other. James gestured to the food once again before Kendall finally tucked in, grabbing the smallest plate possible and loading it up with about 3 items, which looked to be the littlest of those items. Kendall then grabbed his knife and fork, and instantly James noticed that the way he held it wasn't anything like James had seen before.

Kendall wrapped his whole fists around the handles, rather than having one finger on top of the cutlery. This meant that when Kendall tried to hold something down on the plate with the fork, it wasn't properly secure, so when he went to cut it with the knife, the object simply slipped around the plate rather than being cut.

"Here" James said, quickly gaining Kendall's attention. "Why don't you hold them like this. That way you'll be able to hold and cut it properly" he continued, the entire time his voice soft, and void of condescension. James was quick to place his own hands over Kendall's, once again noticing how soft they were and he also notice how Kendall blushed as soon as their skin came into contact. James noticed that Kendall was a quick learner, easily picking up what James had told him, and after a quick thank you, the two went back into sitting in silence while Kendall ate.

While James looked out the window, this mind raced with thoughts about Kendall, and the things that he had picked up on just my spending less than an hour with the boy. It was obvious that he was stubborn when he needed to be, like yesterday when he demanded the wages, but James also noticed how he was very quick to question everything, making sure he was alright to actually do what he needed to. It had always been clear to James that Kendall clearly wasn't from his class, but James was now starting to wonder where Kendall actually sat in that system. The thing that made James consider that the most was Kendall's reluctance to eat, something that was absolutely bizarre to him. He was snapped out of his thought process when he heard Kendall's voice speak up.

"Sir?" Kendall said, gaining James' attention. "May I ask you a question?" the blond boy continued.

"Only if I can ask you one back" James replied, causing Kendall to swallow a rather large lump in his throat but nod anyway.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Kendall proceeded, once again sending James into shock.

"W-What?" James replied, hoping that he didn't come off as rude. The question had completely thrown him, and he'd had no clue what to say.

"Well, it's just that normally my employers wouldn't think to provide me with some food, let alone bring me into first class if we travelled." Kendall replied, now completely avoiding eye contact with James. Now, he was thoroughly focused on a small chip he'd noticed in the table.

"The Morgan's you mean?" James replied, knowing who Kendall meant when he said employers. Kendall simply nodded at the statement, and what Kendall had said finally clicked. "Kendall, do you mean to say that the Morgan's were starving you?" he continued, and this time, Kendall's head shot up in fear.

"No sir, I didn't say that at all" Kendall replied, his voice quavering, and James could easily hear the panic in it. He could also see Kendall visibly shaking. As James went to move next to Kendall, James noticing how the smaller boy flinched, but when James sat next to the smaller boy, and wrapped his arms around him, he noticed how Kendall dissolved into them.

"Kendall, nothing like that is going to happen here ok? I'll make sure of it. You're going to be well looked after and fed ok?" James said, his voice soothing once again.

"T-Thank you sir" Kendall replied, and James knew that Kendall had a few tears in his eyes.

"Is that why you've been so nervous over these two days?" James asked, causing Kendall to nod.

"But it's not only that sir" Kendall voice began, still quavering. "I've never left my mother and sister before. I mean, even though I lived at the Morgan's, there were still only down the road. Now, they are going to be two days away" he continued, causing James to nod.

"I understand that Kendall, I can imagine how difficult it's going to be. But everyone at the estate is going to welcome you with open arms, and if you're ever feeling homesick, you can always talk to us. And, we'll never stop you from sending a letter to your family." James replied, hoping that had cheered Kendall up.

As for Kendall, he knew there was one thing that was stopping him from writing a letter, and that was the fact that he didn't know how to read or write. Working from a young age didn't provide a lot of time for schooling, so he'd never learnt these basic skills. Of course, this was never a problem before as he'd always had jobs focused on manual labour, but now he was starting to think it was an issue.

"Thank you, sir" Kendall said once again, looking up at James from his arms. When James looked back down at him, the pair of them simply smile as they stared at each other, both not saying a word but knowing that they were content like this, wrapped in each other's arms. A few seconds passed before they heard a door slam from the back of the carriage, and that quickly snapped them back into reality. James quickly unravelled his arms from Kendall and moved back to the other side of the table, before his father walked down, and sat at the table opposite them.

"Good Morning Mr Diamond" Kendall said, taking a quick bow towards the older man, before asking if he could be excused. Mr Diamond just chuckled and nodded, causing Kendall to head back to his room in the carriage, his emotions going haywire.

Never had he ever felt like that before, so vulnerable yet so protected, and he couldn't get the feeling of being in James' arms out of his mind. Never had he felt so secure. Never had he felt so…

Now Kendall really wanted to say attracted to someone but the 19 year old knew that was preposterous. Surely, he couldn't be attracted to James. James was a guy, and he couldn't be attracted to a guy.

Could he?

Kendall couldn't quite put his finger on it. Oh, what was he thinking. He wasn't attracted to James. He knew the consequences of being gay. God, everyone did.

Yet, that didn't stop the feeling from remaining.

Kendall's life just became a whole lot more difficult. Especially if James made him feel like that after only a few hours on a train.

* * *

 **So there we are! Kendall is officially moving out to California, leaving Katie and Jennifer behind. We had a sweet little Kames moment with Kendall sharing some of his life at the Morgan's with James, and James reassured him that everything would be ok, and that he would be looked after. And of course, we had Kendall start to consider the fact that maybe he has feeling for James! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and want to see more, as I have a lot planned for this story! And the chapter name of course was a reference to One Way Ticket From Heffron Drive, both a song and a band that I am addicted to!**

 **A massive thank you to Guest, Winterchild11 and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the first two chapters of this, and also thank you to RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter of Water Under the Bridge. I'm glad you all seem to enjoy the stuff that I post, and as for Katie and Jennifer moving out to California as well...well, you'll have to wait and see :P**

 **I will see you guys on Thursday for the next chapter of Rekindled, which I am super excited to upload! I am loving that story at the moment, as it seems you guys are, and I can't wait to see you more! But until then,**

 **TTFN :D**


	4. Chapter 4: Claustrophobic

**Hi guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! Thank you all for the support on the last chapter, and I am excited to continue! In other news, I have an exam tomorrow, which marks the end of my first year at University, which is kinda scary considering I was uploading on here before I even started University, so it just shows how time flies!**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Kendall was glued to the window as the train began to travel through Los Angeles. As soon as the train pulled through the hills, Kendall noticed the expanse of the city, which seemed to go on for miles and miles. Getting closer, the streets were filled with people and cars, each heading in their own direction, with their own personal agenda, which massively fascinated Kendall. He also took witness to the transit system the city had, noticing the street cars following there owns paths, and how quickly people were to jump on and off them when they needed.

He'd heard about Los Angeles and Hollywood, but he'd never actually thought he'd be witnessing it first-hand. Of course, it was highly unlikely that Kendall would actually see any kind of celebrity, especially when they were following a pre-designated route like a train line, but that still didn't stop him from shoving his head against the window in an attempt. Mr Diamond had returned to his private room since he was trying to work on some sort of political speech, and Kendall assumed that James was also in his private room since he wasn't in the front of the carriage like Kendall was. Liking the privacy, Kendall started to sing one of the songs he'd heard through the radio as he continued to watch the city pass by, with the train getting closer to their stop at Central Station.

He was completely absorbed in what he was doing that he didn't even hear James' door open, as the brunet man poked is head out the door to see where the noise was coming from. He was greeted with what James thought was one of the most pure and innocent sights he'd ever seen. A small smile grew on James' face, and he knew it was probably best if he left Kendall to it.

"Can I help you sir?" Kendall asked, turning to see only James' head poking out of the door. He had a small smug smile on his face, and James couldn't help but love this cocky side of Kendall. James quickly shook the thought out of his head as he approached the blond boy.

"How'd you know I was…?" James asked as he took the seat opposite Kendall, resting his hands on the table as he joined the blond, staring out the window.

"I can hear you breathing sir" Kendall replied, chuckling slightly, his eyes never averting from the city. The two of them settled into a comfortable silence, and it wasn't until the train pulled into Central Station that Kendall finally. "May I ask Sir, when are we getting off?" he said, finally turning towards James, resting his hands on the table so they were almost touching James.

"Getting claustrophobic?" James asked chuckling, before turning to see Kendall wearing a confused expression on his face.

"Clo-clophobic sir?" Kendall asked back, massively mispronouncing the word as he did so.

"Claustrophobic. It means having a fear of confined places" James replied, before shaking his head. "And to answer your question, we're not getting off until we reach Oakland. Father paid so the train would take us right there. He didn't want to deal with the hassle of changing trains half way" James replied, seeing Kendall's reaction at what he'd said.

"Wait, you own the whole train sir?" the blond replied, his voice completely filled with awe and innocence, which James tried not to gush over. Instead the older male chuckled, hoping it didn't sound condescending before he replied.

"Not the whole train, but the first two carriages. This one, and the one behind which contains a kitchen and a small wash room"

"This train has a shower?" Kendall asked, his voice filled with awe again.

"Not a shower, but it's got a wash basin with running water" James replied, causing Kendall to blush due to his overzealousness. The two of them returned to looking out of the window before Kendall started his questioning once again.

"Have you ever been to Los Angeles sir?" he asked, as he watched people board and leave the train.

"A few times actually. I've been to a few business parties with Mother and Father, as he wanted me to meet all our business partners, but I've also been to a few Hollywood Parties as well. Those are always good fun" James replied, and when he looked back to Kendall he couldn't quite read his facial expressions. Awe was definitely present, but that seemed to be a staple over this train journey. Yet, James couldn't tell if Kendall was showing jealous or intrigue, wanting to know more or nothing else. It wasn't until Kendall spoke up that James finally understood the expression.

"Like I said sir, I've never left Wichita before today. I always wanted to travel and see the country. Where else have you been?" James let out a relieved sigh that it was intrigue, before answering Kendall's question.

"Well, I've pretty much been everywhere. Father has clients all over the country. Umm, let me see. I've been to New York, Miami, Washington, New Orleans…" and while James listed off all these places, Kendall imagined then all in his head, how they looked, what they smelt like, how the streets where filled with people each minding their own business, or even in some cases, how the sea looked and smelt. "Everyone wants wine, and like Father says 'you can't beat the best'" James said, bringing Kendall back into reality. When James noticed the look on Kendall's face, he tried his best to resolve it. "Maybe one day, you'll visit them as well"

"Maybe, sir" was all Kendall replied with, but his voice was laced with utter misery and disappointment.

For Kendall knew that was never going to happen.

* * *

What Kendall wasn't expecting on his train journey was a view of the sea, and yet here he was, watching the waves lap up against the rocks, as the train pulled into Oakland Station. Well, he could see it if he really squinted his eyes as he looked out of the window. Of course, it wasn't the view that he really wanted, but then again considering he wasn't expecting anything, it was better than nothing. As the train pulled into the station, Kendall notice the flurry of people that descended onto the first two carriage and when the train finally stopped, it seemed the carriage was overrun with people.

"Mr Diamond, Mr Diamond. This way please" one of the gentleman said, completely disregarding Kendall's presence, as he knocked on the private rooms where James and his dad were situated.

"Of course Bitters, one second" James spoke up, emerging from his room in a completely flawless state. He smiled at Kendall before nodding his head, something Kendall took for 'come on.'

"One second sir, let me grab my bag" Kendall replied, pulling himself from the sofa he was sat on.

"Don't worry about it. Bitters will get one of the attendants to grab it with the rest of our stuff, won't you Bitters?" James replied, before turning to the now disgruntled looking man.

"Of course sir" Bitter replied, bowing slightly before walking away from the two of them.

"Are you sure sir?" Kendall asked, as he followed James off the train, taking a huge breath when he did so. It wasn't he was starved for air, but he was starting to feel a little clophobic or whatever it was that James had said. James just chuckled, before leading Kendall out of the station. The first thing Kendall notice was the massive different in temperature, something he quickly relished. He took the jacket he was wearing off, and threw it over his shoulder, causing James to smile.

"Warm?"

"Only a bit sir."

The second thing Kendall noticed was the massive increase of people. While sat at the Wichita train station, Kendall was note every person that was there, but when he was sat on the train he hadn't quite comprehended how many people were actually present here. If it wasn't for James, Kendall would have easily gotten lost in the sea of people, and he would have never been able to find the exit. Luckily, the two of them managed to get out of the train station without any issues, and James lead them over to the car waiting for them.

"Your father has already left Sir. He said he's got some work to attend to" the person stood next to the car said to James. As soon as the two of them approached, he opened the door for them allowing the both of them into the back.

"Thank you Dak" James replied, as he hoisted himself into the back of the car. Kendall hesitated for a second, before James nodded his head once again. "Come join me Kendall" James said, patting the seat next to him. Kendall blushed, before climbing into the seat next to James. "Dak, did my father say that we needed to be back at the estate right away?" James asked, as Dak climbed into the driver's side of the car.

"No Sir" Dak replied, causing James to grow his signature smirk.

"Care for a tour of the city Kendall." James asked, causing a massive smile to grow on Kendall's face.

"Are you sure sir?" Kendall replied, trying to contain his excitement.

"Of course! Dak, do you mind?" James asked, causing Dak to shake his head as he started the car.

"Of course not Sir" Dak replied as the car finally pulled away from the station. Kendall couldn't help but smile when driving around the city, especially when Dak drove them past the sea front, despite the fact that it had been heavily industrialised. They must have driven around for at least an hour before James asked Dak to take then back to the estate. Kendall said a mental goodbye to the city as Dak drove them through the hills and back to Lakefield estate. Kendall was unsure as to how long it took them to reach his new work place, but he knew that he had been sat in the car for quite a while considering his ass was starting to become slightly numb.

"I don't mean to be rude, but how much farther Sir?" Kendall asked, as he shuffled about in his seat, trying to get some blood flowing again.

"Actually, we are here now" James replied, pointing to the gates to the estate in the far distance. Kendall began to sit up straighter in an attempt to see the estate as he approached, and he was not disappointed. What could only be described as a castle, from Kendall's perspective, loomed over the horizon as the car followed the main drive, trees lining their way.

As Kendall looked to his left, he could see how the estate expanded for miles, and he was in awe by the fact that the Diamonds had their own lake on the residence. As he arrived closer to the manor, he struggled to comprehend the size and James' monologue didn't help.

"The Lakefield Estate, comprising of 28.12 square kilometres of land. The house itself has 250 rooms over 5 floors if we include the basement, and the estate itself has the winery, my mother's personal project of the garden a tennis court, a lake, as well as the stables where you'll be working. The stables are to your right at the moment" James said, and when Kendall looked over, he saw what appeared to be a miniature house. The building was made out of the same material as the main house, and could easily house Kendall and his family, plus about 5 others.

"At the moment, we own about 15 horses. Three of them are specially reserved for my family and I, while another six we offer out for riding lessons. The rest are kept in case we need to pull a wagon if the cars give out, or sometimes for short journeys around the estate where the car would be unnecessary" James continued causing Kendall to nod. "It'll be you and Camille working with the horses. We expect them to be mucked out every day, as well as them provided with fresh food and water, which is pretty obvious. They'll also need to be groomed and exercised. If no one is riding them that day, just let them roam around the field for the day until everything else is completed. Obviously, you'll need to keep an eye on them, but unless the gate at the bottom of the estate is left open, they should stay in the field. But all the fine details will be in the contract so don't worry about that for the moment" James finished giving Kendall a small smile.

Kendall returned the favour, while internally freaking out about the fact that he'd have to read and sign a contract. The car finally stopped at the front of the house and when it did, the front doors opened to reveal the same man that welcomed them off the train. Dak opened the door for James and Kendall and once they were both out of the car, Dak proceeded to pull away from the house, Kendall assuming he was going to park the car somewhere else.

"Welcome home sir" Bitters said, causing James to smile.

"Thank you Bitters. I assume everything is sorted?" James asked, raising his eyebrow as he did.

"Of course sir. All your belongings have been placed in your room and are being unpacked as we speak. As for Kendall's stuff sir, it's been placed with his roommate at the back of the house. We've placed him on the east side, so he's closer to the stables" Bitters replied and the conversation made Kendall feel massively uncomfortable, considering he was standing right there.

"Perfect. Kendall, if you'll follow me, I'll grab that contract for you" James replied, finally turning his attention back to Kendall. Kendall just nodded, before following James through the house. Kendall couldn't get over both the size of it, and the decoration it contained. The floor of the main hallway was made of marble, as were the stairs. The living room was lined with carpet and was filled with chairs and sofas for people to sit on, and they seemed to be made out of the same velvet as was on the train. The living room also contained huge bookcases from floor to ceiling, completely filled with books, something that slightly intimidated Kendall.

They walked into what Kendall assumed to be Mr Diamonds' office, which had a wood flooring. The room contained a desk, which was situated under a window, and the rest of the room was also filled with bookcases, as well as a small table, for when he needed to conduct business meetings. Other than that, the room was fairly similar to the rest, with paintings hanging off the walls, some of the Diamond family who Kendall recognised, and others of people didn't.

"Ahh, here we are" James said, pulling the document out of his father's desk. The document was easily 5 pages long, causing Kendall's mouth to go completely dry. "Right, so I'll take you to where you're going to sleep, and then I'll give you some time to get settled in and meet everyone. Dinner will be at six tonight, due to it being a Sunday, and you'll see where that will be on the way to your room." James smiled, leading Kendall out of the door.

The two of them continued to the back of the house, where Kendall quickly noticed how the marble floors turned into a grey concrete. The walls lacked any kind of decoration that the rest of the house contained, and while it was still well lit, Kendall noticed a change in the light levels. James led him through the dinning, where Kendall noticed a large table, and sat against one wall was a series of bell, each with what Kendall assumed was a name under them.

"You won't need to worry about those" James said, noticing that Kendall was staring at them. "They're for the maids and servants. Personally, I don't use it, but Mother finds it easier to ring a bell, then simply ask." Kendall just nodded, continuing the follow James to his room. "Right, here we are. So, you will be sharing with Carlos, he's one of the chefs." James said, as he opened the door. Kendall was greeted with a huge room compared to what his mother and Katie had. The room contained two single beds, as well as a small table, and sink at one side. "The sink gives you hot water, but if you want to shower, you'll have to use the communal men's room" James said, as Kendall walked into the room. "So, I guess I'll let you settle in. Um, like I said, Dinner is at six, but I'll send someone to come get you in case you lose track of time."

"Thank you, sir," Kendall replied, trying to stay focused on James. At the moment, he was having a million thoughts running through his mind, so he couldn't really focus on anything.

James just smiled, before finally leaving Kendall alone in his new environment.

* * *

 **So there we have it, Kendall has finally arrived at Lakefield Estate! So, I tried to describe the house the best I could, but if you want a proper visual image, then look up Biltmore Estate, as that is what I based the house off of, and in terms of the location of the estate, it's where a vineyard called Captain Vineyards is located. Combine those two together and we have Lakefield Estate. We also had James mention a few characters who we will get to meet next time.**

 **A massive thank you to Guest, RainbowDiamonds and Winterchild11 for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm glad to see you all liked the chapter, and trust me, if you think that Kames is sweet, then wait until the story gets going!**

 **So, I will see you guys on Thursday for the next chapter of Rekindled, which I am super excited to upload, since you guys enjoyed the last one so much. But until then,**

 **TTFN :D**


	5. Chapter 5: Meeting The Locals

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character. So last chapter, we had Kendall finally arrive at the estate, and this is going to pick straight up from there. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

To say Kendall was overwhelmed would be an understatement. He was currently unpacking all his stuff, reviewing the last two days of his life. He'd gotten fired from his old job, and what seemed to be instantly given a new one.

By the Diamonds.

Who live in California.

Where Kendall is currently.

His thoughts instantly shot back to Katie and his mother, wondering if they were ok, and what made his situation worse was the fact that he couldn't check. Instead, he could only hope and pray that they were, while continuing with his own life. Luckily, the room he was in wasn't too bad, so Kendall knew after a few days he would start to settle in. That is, of course, if his room mate is an alright guy.

After he finished unpacking his stuff, he decided to try and find the shower room that James had talked about After all, he had spent two days on a train, so he was starting to feel slightly grimy, and he thought that probably wouldn't be his best impression on his new co-workers. Grabbing his towel, he made his way out of the room, and tried to back track down the hallway James had brought him down. He eventually made his way back to the room with the large table, where he found Dak sat.

"Hi?" Kendall said, causing Dak to jump.

"Jesus, you scared the life out of me" Dak replied, hand on his chest as he turned to Kendall.

"Sorry, I was just looking for the men's room. Mr Diamond said something about a shower?" Kendall replied, causing Dak to chuckle.

"Ah ok. Here, let me show you where it is" he replied, causing Kendall to smile.

"Thanks"

"So, you're new here huh. Where you from?" Dak asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Wichita, Kansas" Kendall replied, causing Dak to nod. But Kendall knew the nod, it wasn't a 'oh yeah' nod, it was more of a 'I don't know where that is' nod. Still Kendall took it, not wanting to be rude. "What about you" Kendall replied, trying to memorise the way Dak was taking him.

"Me? I'm from Oakland. Born and raised" Dak replied, just as they reached the room. "Here you are"

Kendall just smiled as he walked into the room, hoping this first conversation with Dak wasn't a total disaster. He didn't need everyone hating him here, especially when he was the new guy. Kendall quickly stripped off, before stepping into the shower and fiddling with the knob for a while, hoping to get it to an acceptable temperature. He wasn't well versed with this, but he quickly got the hang of it. Drying himself off, and putting his clothes back on, Kendall followed the route back, only to find the dinning room booming with people.

As soon as the blond boy walked in, the entire room went silent, everyone's eyes on him.

"Hi" was all Kendall said, completely intimidated as 7 pairs of eyes watched him.

"Who are you?" He heard a female voice speak up, finally asking the question everyone wanted to.

"I'm Kendall, the new stable hand" he replied, causing another voice to speak up.

"What do you mean, the new stable hand. We don't need a new stable hand" the second female voice said. He heard everyone start to murmur in agreement, but that quickly came to a stop when Kendall heard footsteps from behind him. He turned around to see James stood there.

"Mr Diamond" the room chorused at once, Kendall trying to include himself but not working very well.

"Well, I see that you've all met Kendall then. To answer your question Camille, father believed that you could do with a hand, and after he saw Kendall's work, he thought it would be best to hire him. As for the rest of you, I expect you to treat Kendall with the respect you would each other. I want him to feel welcome here, much like you do" James said, his voice soft yet authoritative.

"Yes Sir" the room chorused, before settling into a silence as they all took their seats at the table. James gave Kendall a quick pat on the shoulder, before exchanging a goodbye, leaving Kendall to sit with them. Awkwardly, Kendall took a seat at the table, and waited for everyone else to dish their own meals up.

"Here, have some" A Latino male said, sliding down a plate with a few small loafs of bed on it.

"Thanks" Kendall replied, causing the Latino to rise from his seat, and move next to Kendall.

"Carlos" he said, extending his hand out for a handshake.

"Kendall. You're my roommate" Kendall replied, causing Carlos to nod as they shook hands.

"Yeah, I was lucky having the room to myself but I knew it wouldn't last much longer" Carlos joked, nudging Kendall as he did so. Kendall chuckled at the statement before diving into the bread roll he was given. "Hey, can we have some more stuff down here! I did cook it after all" Carlos shouted, causing everyone to groan slightly as some food was pushed down the table.

As the food was slid down, Kendall noticed a few people following it, Dak included. He sat the other side of him, while the two girls that spoke up earlier sat opposite him.

"Lucy" one girl said, extending her own hand out for a handshake. "I'm the head maid around here, kind of like the top dog" she joked, causing everyone to chuckle. "And this is…"

"Camille" the other girl spoke up. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I was just shocked that the Diamonds had hired someone new and I didn't know" she said, a small, almost cute smile settling on her face.

"It's fine. I didn't know either until two days ago. I lost my old job, and luckily Mr Diamond was nice enough to hire me" Kendall replied, as he continued to dig into the food on the table. While it wasn't as exquisite as the stuff on the train, it was definitely better than the stuff he'd eaten at the Morgan's.

"How'd you lose your last job?" Lucy asked, causing Kendall to look up from his plate. He quickly swallowed all the food he had in his mouth, causing everyone to chuckle, before he spoke.

"They were selling their horses, so I wasn't needed anymore" he replied, causing them all to nod. Chatter between them was light after that, with Kendall telling them about himself and vice versa. Camille was quick to chat to him about being a stable hand, and they'd come to the conclusion that while Camille would be in charge, she'd allow Kendall free rein as long as he was doing everything properly.

She told him that they'd start work at about 7 in the morning, and that she usually finished by 9 by herself. She was hoping that with the two of them, she could get done earlier, something Kendall was quick to agree to. Kendall asked if he could visit the horses tonight, and Camille nodded, reminding him to lock the stables after he was done, something he was familiar with.

Dinner continued for a little while longer with Kendall helping to wash up before he went back to his room and grabbed the contract.

* * *

From there, he made his way out to the stables, somewhere that wasn't difficult to find. As James had said, the stables contained 15 horses, each in their own little pen. What Kendall found slightly cute was that each horse had a name tag by the door, but since he couldn't read it wasn't much help to him. He found himself settling next to an American Saddle-bred horse, on a hay bale that was left laying about.

"Let's see if we can read this shall we buddy?" Kendall spoke out loud, as he looked up to the horse. The horse was quick to look back at Kendall and snorted as if to agree. Kendall just chuckled, as he opened the document, one hand going behind him in order to stroke the horse's mane as he read. Well, tried to read at least. He wasn't sure how long he was sat there, but it wasn't until he heard the door open that he realised it had been a long time.

"Kendall?" he heard, and he signed in relief, when he recognised the voices as James'.

"Over here sir" Kendall called back, causing the horse to neigh after he'd said so. "Good boy" Kendall said, continuing to stroke the horse's mane as James approached.

"Ah, I see you've met Fable" James said, as Kendall shuffled over, so James could join him on his hay bale.

"Yeah, we were just reading this contract together sir" Kendall replied, causing Fable to neigh as if he understood what Kendall had said.

"Oh ok. How are you getting on with it?" James asked, causing Kendall to instantly nod in the least discreet way.

"Yeah, really well sir. Really well" he replied, and by the tone of voice James knew that something was off.

"You know you can tell me anything right Kendall?" James replied, causing Kendall to nod.

"Of course sir" Kendall replied, causing James to raise his eyebrow at him. For a brief second Kendall's resolve held, but when Fable snorted again, Kendall gave up. "I don't know how to read sir" Kendall said, his voice quite and full of shame. James felt slightly bad about forcing that out of Kendall, but he knew that it would be better for him in the long run.

"Kendall" James said, gaining the smaller boys attention. "It's ok. I can teach you. Do you know how to write?" James asked, causing Kendall to shake his head. "Ok, I'll teach you that as well."

"Could you also teach me how to tell the time?" Kendall asked, finally gaining a small voice.

"Of course! You can count right?" James asked, trying not to sound rude.

"Yes sir, but only up to 20" Kendall replied, causing James to nod.

"We can work with that." He replied, before taking the document from Kendall's lap. "But first, let's go through this together ok? I'll read it to you, and if you don't like anything, let me know ok?" James asked, causing Kendall to nod.

"Thank you, Sir," Kendall replied, finally looking at James. Again their eyes locked with each other's as small smiles settled onto their faces. It wasn't until Fable neighed from behind that the two of them snapped out of the little moment.

"Shall we begin?" James asked, causing Kendall to nod. The two of them spent the next half an hour or so going through the document, with Kendall asking for clarification on certain bits he didn't understand. Especially when it started to talk about the legal side of the estate.

"So the non-disclosure document states that if you were to share any of the estates customers, intellectual property, marketing and development strategies and product information or processes with anyone outside of the estate, and if the information were deemed vital to the estate, then the estate has the right to remove you from the premises as well as press charges. Is that ok?" James asked, looking up to Kendall, who was just staring directly back at James, his face completely blank. "Kendall?" James asked, waving his hand in front of the younger boy's face. Kendall just chuckled at James' action, shaking his head as he did so.

"Sorry sir. I zoned out"

"I saw that. I think Fable did as well" James replied, as he heard the horse snore behind him. "Goodnight boy"

"Is he yours sir?" Kendall asked, causing James to nod.

"Yeah, I've had him since I was about 14, so much of my teenage years were spent looking after him." James replied, grabbing a blanket from one of the hooks, and carefully laying over Fable. "He was 6 months old, so that I could watch him grow up, and he could get to know me. He'll be 8 soon" He continued, as Fable started to shuffle under the blanket, trying to get warm.

"He is a beauty sir" Kendall replied, smiling at the admiration James held for his horse.

"Anyway, we should get back to it" James replied, a small smile on his face as he sat back down next to Kendall. Kendall just nodded, and suddenly felt a surge of courage as he shuffled closer to James, before reaching over to the paper.

"Sorry, I couldn't see sir" Kendall said, a small blush settling onto his face.

"Here" James replied, shuffling a little closer, so the paper was rest on both their knees. "Better?"

"Yes Sir" Kendall replied, both their knees and shoulder brushing together every time one of them moved. The two of them continued to work on the document with James reading it, while Kendall listened to his voice, questioning James when he became confused.

Both of them were having the time of their lives, for exactly the same reason, but neither of them thought the other felt the same.

* * *

When Kendall returned to his room that night, his face was plastered with the biggest smile, and he hadn't even done that much. Carlos was sat at the small table they shared reading the newspaper when Kendall walked in, and he was quick to notice the smile on Kendall's face.

"You look happy" Carlos said, as he closed his newspaper and turned to face Kendall who was sat on his bed.

"I am." Kendall replied, letting out a sigh as he began to take of his shoes. When he didn't explain any further, Carlos just shook his head and chuckled before he spoke up again.

"So, since I'm sharing a room with you, is there anything I should know about you?" He asked, causing Kendall to stare back at Carlos, with his head tilted slightly.

"What do you mean?" Kendall asked, slightly confused by Carlos' statement.

"You know, like do you talk in your sleep? Do I need to worry about you walking around the room at 3am?" Carlos asked, causing Kendall to chuckle.

"I don't think so" he replied, causing Carlos to nod.

"I guess we'll find out then. Tell me about yourself Kendall" Carlos continued, now sitting on his own bed, laying against the pillows.

"Um, there's not much to tell really. I'm from Wichita Kansas, with my mum and sister. I worked on the Morgan's estate for 9 years until I was fired. That pretty much it" Kendall replied, trying to think about something interesting about his life. All he could remember was working on the Morgan's estate, and nothing excited ever happened there.

"What happened to your father?" Carlos asked, causing Kendall's expression to soften slightly.

"He died in a mining accident when I was 8. Since then, I've worked to try and provide for my family." Kendall replied, causing Carlos to feel slightly guilty.

"I'm so sorry" he said, hoping to convey his compassion to Kendall.

"It's ok. It was 11 years ago now." Kendall replied, wiping a tear from under his eyes, before continuing. "What about you Carlos? Tell me about yourself?"

"Well, I'm from just outside Miami. My parents were some of the first to move to the new city."

"Miami, isn't that like, miles away" Kendall asked, knowing he'd heard about the growing town on the radio.

"Yeah, it's on the east coast"

"Then why did you want to move so far away?" Kendall asked, causing Carlos to go silent for a few seconds, thinking about his answer.

"I suppose I wanted to see the other side of the country. When I saw the Diamonds offer for a chef, I jumped at the opportunity. It gave me a chance to travel the country before I started to work, and it gives me the chance to see how it's changed every time I go home" Carlos replied, his answer causing Kendall to go silent for a second.

"I'd love to have that sense of adventure" he said after a short while, smiling to Carlos as he did so. Kendall could see that the two of them were going to get on well, and this helped settle his nerves slightly knowing that he would at least have one friend here. At the Morgan's he never really spoke to anyone else, so he was always isolated from the rest of them whereas here, Kendall could see himself fitting in quite nicely.

That is, if everyone else liked him.

* * *

 **So there we go! We were introduced to Lucy, Camille and Carlos who were a little funny with Kendall at first, but quickly got over it when they got to know him. Camille will be working with Kendall quite closely, so get ready to see her a lot. There are also a few more character that will introduced in the next chapter as well. We also had the cute Kames moment, with the two of them reading Kendall's contract together as well as getting super close! James' horse Fable was also introduced, and I have no admit, I know very little about horses, so this story will be a learning experience for me as well.**

 **A massive thank you to Guest, RainbowDiamonds and Winterschild11 for reviewing the last chapter, and you are right that this will be a massive change for Kendall, but hopefully James will make it bearable. I'm also glad that you liked how I've put Carlos with Kendall, and hopefully he's lived up to what you expected. Of course, I'm guessing you know what that means about where Logan is.**

 **I will see you guys on Thursday for the much awaited chapter of Rekindled, although I feel like I say that about all of them. You guys seemed to enjoy the cliff hanger at the end of the last chapter, so don't worry, all will be answered. But until then,**

 **TTFN :D**


	6. Chapter 6: Voices and Visitors

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! Thank you all for the support on the last chapter, and this one will begin to show us what Kendall's daily life is like. So, let's crack on shall we?**

* * *

The next morning Kendall was awoken by Carlos shuffling around the room. When he rolled over, yawned and stretched, Carlos quickly notice. "I'm sorry I woke you" he said, his voice quiet and soft.

"That's fine. What time is it?" Kendall asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he sat in.

"Six o'clock. I've got to start making breakfast" Carlos replied, and Kendall nodded, knowing that he a little time until he had to work. He slowly dragged himself out of the bed, before going over to the sink and quickly cleaning his face. He wasn't that dirty from yesterday, and he knew it was only going to get worse from working with the horses, so he decided a shower wasn't too necessary. When Carlos left the room, he got dressed into some fresh clothes, before deciding to join the Latino, keeping him company while he cooked.

"So, where'd you learn to cook?" Kendall asked, as he watched Carlos shove some stuff into the oven while he cooked on the hob.

"My parents taught me. You know I said they moved to Miami? Well, they opened the first restaurant in the city, so I learnt how to cook watching them" he replied, as he moved the scrambled eggs around the pan. "When I saw the Diamonds needed the chef, I knew I could pull it off. Hence the move"

"That pretty cool dude. I've never learnt how to cook. I probably couldn't even cook toast" he joked, causing Carlos to chuckle.

"I doubt that. Just use a toaster" Carlos replied, nodding his head over to the small utensil sat on the side, which was already in use. Kendall just laughed and shook his head at the grin that had appeared on Carlos' face, more people starting to file into the room. Bitters and Lucy were two of the first and were quick to greet Carlos as they did so. Lucy also greeted Kendall, sitting next to him, whereas Bitters just ignored the blond boy, heading straight for his office.

"Ignore him, he's always this grumpy in the morning" Lucy said, when she was the disheartened look on Kendall's face. "Just be glad you don't have to take orders from him"

"I heard that" Bitters shouted back, causing the three of them in the Kitchen to chuckle.

Camille and Dak came in next, sitting opposite Kendall and Lucy, the four of them descending into conversation, while Carlos continued to cook, and contribute when he could. When breakfast was served, Kendall, as always, was sceptical to dive in, but the incessant badgering from Carlos eventually got him to eat a couple of things off of the table. This was something he was getting to have to get used, especially with his experience with the Morgan's. All the servants were sat there happy chatting, until the bells started to ring on the wall. That when everyone shot up from the table, with Lucy and Bitters starting to give out orders.

"Peggy, go see what Mr and Mrs Diamond want, and Jenny, go and ask what they want to breakfast" Lucy said, causing the two girls to nod before they scuttled off.

"Dak, make sure you get started on the car, in case the Diamonds want to leave the estate today" Bitters barked before turning to Carlos. "And make sure that all the pots and pans are clean before use. We don't need the Diamonds finding a stray hair in their breakfast" he continued, before straightening his jacket and returning to his office.

"Come on Kendall" Camille said, gaining Kendall's attention. "We best get started with the horses." She continued, as he collected all the dishes on the table. She passed them to Carlos with a small, sympathetic smile before leading the way out to the stables. Again, the first thing Kendall noticed was the massive temperature difference between California and Kansas. He wiped the small bit of sweat that had formed on his brow as he followed Camille, causing her to chuckle. "Trust me, with all the work we're going to do, it's gonna get a lot hotter" she said, as she unlocked the stable door.

"I can't quite tell if I'm enjoying it yet. I'll let you know later" Kendall joked back, as he grabbed a scoop.

"Right, so I'll muck out the horses on the left, and you do the ones on the right. Leave the floor to air dry as you move onto the next stable. Then…"

"Then by the time I've reached the last stable, I can relay the hay in the first one, and sort it out while the rest dry" Kendall finished, showing he knew what he was doing. Camille blushed as she opened the main stable door leading onto the field. The two of them opened each of the stable gates, letting the horses get some exercise while they got to work. As the two of them worked, they started to chat learning small bits of information about themselves. The radio was also playing the stable, so if the two of them did settle into a silence, at least it wasn't unbearable. With the main stable doors open to allow some air into the room, Kendall could pretty much see everything that was happening on the estate, and his heart jumped when he saw James walk out of the front door.

Kendall went to give the older male a wave, slightly hoping that James had come out to visit him while he worked, but that illusion was shattered when a car drove past the stable doors, and Kendall could see the smile that James was sporting. Kendall tried his hardest not to pay attention and focus on his work, but he couldn't help but feel curious as to who was visiting. He continued to muck out the stable, hiding enough that he could see what was going on, but not enough that it was obvious to James, or this new visitor.

Finally, the car came to a stop, and when the door was opened, a brunet male was revealed. He was much shorter than James, but still quite well built, and Kendall became exceptionally jealous, especially when the two males hugged each other. Kendall was quick to return to his work, trying to block out the mental images of James and the other brunet hugging. However, what Kendall missed what James' glance over to the stables in order to catch a glimpse of the blond boy. When James couldn't see him, his facial expression quickly changed into a frown, before reverting back to the smile that was there before. Of course, this smile was less sincere than the last. Just as James turned away, Kendall looked up to see the two of them walking into the house, his jealously still growing.

Kendall decided to channel all that rage into his work, causing the next couple of stables he cleaned to be absolutely spotless. It was more for the reason that if James came out, then Kendall could show off in front of the new brunet, but he kept that too himself, as he began to quietly sing along to the radio, forgetting that Camille was even there. About half an hour passed, with Kendall quietly working and singing before Camille finally spoke up.

"You have such a good voice!" the short girl squealed as she walked over to Kendall. He instantly flushed a bright red, denying it.

"No I don't. I can't even sing" he replied, trying to stay focused on his work.

"Stop it! You so can! I've never heard someone ever sing that like" she continued, now using the end of the brush to pat Kendall with slightly. "Come on, sing for me again. It was helping me work"

Becoming slightly annoyed with the constant tapping, Kendall began to sing along to the radio, causing Camille to quickly stop the tapping and continue to work. The two of them were happily singing and humming to the music, that they didn't even notice that two others had joined them in the stable. Well, that was until Kendall screamed of course.

"AHHH" he screamed, as he stood up from the floor of the stables where he was previously working, his hand quickly resting over his heart in some sort of effort to calm himself. After hearing the scream, Camille quickly shot up, hitting her head against the low hanging beam as she did so.

"Sir" they both said in synchronicity, Camille rubbing the back of her head, while Kendall tried to catch his breath.

"I'm sorry I startled you. I thought you'd heard us walk in" James replied, a small smug smile tugging at his lips, one that Kendall was quick to notice.

"Of course Sir" he replied, his voice containing a small hint of sarcasm, which James picked up on. When he raised his eyebrow in an attempt to question the blond boy on it, he was completely ignored as Kendall spoke up. "What can we do for you Sir?" he asked, his eyes averting between James, and the brunet that was accompanying him.

"I just wanted to introduce you to Logan" James said, using his hand to present the other male.

"A pleasure, Kendall, was it?" Logan asked, extending his hand out for a handshake, one that Kendall was reluctant to give.

"Like wise sir" Kendall replied, his jealously now raging at the fact that James had the audacity to introduce him.

"I thought it was best for you too to get acquainted. Logan is one of my closest friends, so you may be seeing him around a lot." James continued, that smug smile returning on his face.

"I look forward to it sir" Kendall said, now having to force the smile on his face, before turning to look at James, letting a little bit of his fury show. Again, James just raised his eyebrows as to question Kendall on it, but he was quickly ignored. "Well, I best get back to work Sir" Kendall said, before turning his attention to Logan. "It was nice to meet you Sir" he finished, before bowing to the two men and returning to his work seething with anger.

* * *

When Kendall returned to work in the stable, it was safe to say that James had finished having his fun.

"Come Logan, we best leave them to it" he said, before patting Logan on the back. Logan turned around and began to walk out the stables, but before James left, he grabbed a stray bit of hay that was sat on top of one of the fences. He quickly rolled it into a ball, before launching it at the back of Kendall's head. When the ball made contact, he quickly turned around, and began to walk out of the stables. When he felt Kendall's eyes burning into the back of his head, he looked over his shoulder, and gave him a quick wink, causing the blond to blush as James walked away.

"So, I haven't see you in ages! Let's do something. I'm pretty sure we have a few new movies to watch. Father was even able to get one with sound" James said, causing Logan's face to light up.

"Sure, I haven't seen one in ages! And sound? That's incredible!" Logan replied, causing the two boys to head to the projector room. On the way, they passed Carlos, causing James to smile at the Latino.

"Carlos, would you be able to cook us a few snacks? We're going to watch a movie" James asked, causing Carlos to nod, if not blush a little.

"Of course Sir" he replied, causing James to smile as he continued on their way to the projector room. He also caught a sneaky glance that Logan made towards Carlos, but decided to ignore it, thinking it was nothing.

"So, how was your trip to Wichita?" Logan asked, as the two of them continued to walk through the house. Logan basically knew the place like the back of his hand, so it was easy for the two of them to chat as they walked.

"Dull. I had to listen to Father dismiss a business partner. The only good part of the trip was Kendall" James said, his face lighting up as he did so. That was until he saw Logan raise an eyebrow at him. "The estate needed another stable hand, and we got lucky. He was getting his wages when we were there. I overheard then arguing and decided to go out and see what it was about. Like usual, the Morgan's were trying to scam somebody out of their money" he continued, trying to justify what he meant.

Logan seemed to buy it, continuing the conversation. "Yeah, Father always told me not to trust them, and especially to never lend money to them" he replied, causing James to murmur in agreement. "Anyway, Kendall seems nice, if not slightly jealous" Logan continued, turning the right back onto James' favourite topic of conversation.

"He's a nice lad, just a bit…innocent I suppose. It's clear his education wasn't very good, if he even had any. He admitted to me that he can't read or write, and he can't tell the time either" James continued, not noticing the side eye Logan was giving him as he continued to talk. "I offered to teach him, and he was quick to take me up on the offer. I only hope that it's not too late." James finally finished, turning back to see his friend looking at him.

"You know quite a lot about him them?" Logan asked, his voice including a little bit of suspicion.

"I mean, I spent two days on the train with him. We were bound to talk" James replied, once again hoping that Logan would buy his lie. When Logan only shrugged, James seemed to let out a little breath that he didn't even know he was holding, as he continued to follow Logan back to the projector room. The two of them settled into a comfortable silence when the movie started to play, and quickly took notice that the sound was actually in time with the movie.

"This is revolutionary!" Logan said, causing James to enthuse about it himself.

"I know! Father said that they are going to become public in a few years, but that we were chose to test them and see if they worked" he replied, before the two of them settled back into the silence. About half an hour later, the door to the projector room opened to reveal Carlos holding a few trays of snacks. James got up to pause the movie when Carlos started to speak.

"I wasn't sure what you wanted sir, so I baked some sweet and savoury stuff" he began, setting the plates down. "You've got some cookies, as well as some pretzels, and I also made a few sandwiches"

"Thank you Carlos, this all looks amazing" James said, causing Carlos to take a bow.

"Thank you, sir," he said, as Logan began to speak.

"Truly, you've done an incredible job" Logan said, causing a small blush to settle onto Carlos' face. Carlos took another bow, before asking if they needed anything else.

When James refused, Carlos took his leave, a small smug look on his face at the praise he'd received, especially from Logan.

* * *

The evening was starting to creep over on the estate, and Kendall and Camille were starting to get a little closer to finishing. All the stables had been mucked out, horses cleaned and fed, their water and salt blocks were replaced and at the moment, the two of them were making sure the horses got the exercise they needed. Currently, Camille and Kendall were chasing a few of them around the field, laughing and having fun as they did so. The horses seemed to become accustom to Kendall quite quickly, which he was happy about as it made his job a little easier. After another half an hour or so, Camille came over to Kendall panting.

"We should probably get them back inside" she said, as the grabbed a couple of the leads closest to her.

"I've got this don't worry. You take those two, and I'll make sure the rest get in ok" Kendall replied, not looking at Camille, but instead the horses grazing in the field.

"Are you sure? I don't mind helping."

"I'm sure Camille. You look like you could use a rest" Kendall replied, earning him a smack on the arm, but also a small smile from her.

"Thanks" she replied, before lightly tugging on the leads to get the two horses she was holding going. The horses followed as she walked, and she even managed to grab another couple of leads on the walk back, leaving Kendall with 11 horses to walk back. Of course, that wasn't really his plan. He hadn't really ridden a horse in a while, and while he was alone in a big empty field, he thought he might as well make the most of it. Besides, if anything it was more exercise for the horses, right?

Walking over to the closest horse, which just happened to be Fable, Kendall hoisted himself up. Fable just neighed as Kendall stroked his mane, before the two of them started to round up the horses. He'd grab as many leads as he could, before trotting back over to the stable, and place them into their pens, before he'd repeat the process. He'd managed to memorise what horse belong where, so he wasn't too worried about it. Plus, it was his first official day, so he couldn't be expected to get everything right, could he? Much like every other time Kendall did anything else however, he didn't realise that James was walking out of the house with Logan. James was quick to recognise Kendall, and when he saw he was riding Fable, a small smile grew on his face.

"I'll see you later Logan. It was nice to catch up" James said, trying to advert his eyes back to his friend.

"You sound so formally dude. I'll catch you later" Logan replied as he slid into the back of the car. James waved as it drove off, and as soon as Logan was gone from the estate, he sprinted over to the stables, hoping he could catch Kendall in his act, a smug smile growing on his face. There was something about Kendall which made James just want to tease him, and James couldn't quite pinpoint it. Maybe it was his massive attraction to the younger male, but James didn't want to admit that just yet.

James wasn't the type of guy to develop feelings, he'd much rather just have a one or two night stand and be done with it. Yet, with Kendall, he couldn't help but want to spend time with the young male, and actually get to know him, as much as James didn't want to admit it. He was knocked out of his thought process when he heard the last few horses approaching. He stayed as quiet as possible, sat on the same hay bale as yesterday, a small smile on his face. When Kendall rode into the stable, he jumped slightly which caused Fable to rear up a little bit, before he noticed it was James.

"God sir, you frightened me" Kendall said, as he climbed off the back of the back of Fable.

"May I ask what you were doing?" James said, as he tried to keep his voice stern as he tried to act all serious. It seemed to work as Kendall's face paled slightly as he walked the other two horses back into their pens.

"I was only rounding up the horses, sir, nothing more sir" the blond replied, and James noticed the panic in the blond's voice. Trying to keep his laughter under control, James continued.

"While riding my prized horse?" he replied, lips tight and eyebrow raise as he maintained eye contact with the younger boy. Kendall was walking Fable over to his pen at this point, but James was quick to stand up and get in their way, something Kendall paled at even more.

"I was only exercise him sir. They need at least an hour's worth of exercise every day sir" Kendall replied, shrinking slightly as he did so.

"Well, next time, be sure to feed him a carrot after you're done" James said, his face finally cracking as the smile formed and he started to chuckle to himself. Kendall just looked up from the ground with the plainest expression on his face, his colour still drained slightly, yet his cheeks completely flustered. "I had you going there for a second" James howled, wiping a few tears from his eyes. "You looked so horrified" he continued, causing Kendall to finally catch on.

"You…I…joke…you were joking?" he asked, a small pit of rage growing in his gut. "Of course I was horrified, you were so serious" he continued, his voice almost coming out as a whine. Fable just seemed to neigh along with James, as if he was also laughing at Kendall, causing the blond to grow a small attitude. He tugged on Fable's reigns a little, causing him to follow as Kendall walked him to his pen, all the while James still chuckling to himself. When the pen was finally locked up, Kendall turned back to James.

"I'll think I'll make my leave now, _Sir_ " he said, spite making its way onto the word 'sir' and when Kendall turned his back on James and started to walk out of the stable, the older male finally took notice.

"Kendall, Kendall wait" James said, grabbing Kendall wrist to make the smaller boy stop. Kendall instantly blushed at the contact, as James continued to speak. "I'm sorry ok? You just looked so…scared and I couldn't help myself. I am truly sorry" James said, trying to stay serious. When Kendall turned back to him, the older male couldn't help by crack a smile, causing Kendall to huff, trying to tug his arm away from James. "Please, let me make it up to you. The two of us will go for a ride. You can even ride Fable properly this time" James said, causing Kendall to turn back to James with his eyebrow raised.

"Properly sir?" Kendall asked, almost like he'd been told he'd rode Fable wrong, which was preposterous.

"You know, with a saddle and better position" James replied shrugging as he did so.

"Better position, _sir?_ "

"Yeah, with a straighter back, and your knees bent slightly" that smug smile returning to James' face.

"I've ridden horses for nine years _sir,_ I think I know what I'm doing" Kendall replied, starting to become defensive.

"Then maybe you were just slacking today." James replied, causing Kendall to see red. Just as he opened his mouth, James continued. "Anyhow, let's get the horses ready, shall we?" he finished, that smug smile still on his face as he turned away finishing the argument between them.

Kendall was raging, if not slightly impressed, by the smugness James was showing, and decided from then on, it was a competition on who could ride their horse the best.

And Kendall never loses competitions.

* * *

 **So there we go! We had the first scene showing what it's like in the mornings, with Carlos cooking and everyone else filing in before they were sent off to work. We also had Camille realising that Kendall could sing as well as the introduction of Logan, with him and James sharing a scene. I think my favourite scene in this chapter was the last one, with James scaring Kendall, as well as telling him how to ride the horses, as I had a blast writing that, and could imagine Kendall's reaction to it.**

 **A massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11 and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm glad to see that you are all enjoying the story so far! I'm glad to see that you all liked Carlos, as well as how well he and Kendall get on together. You all seemed to love the scene between James and Kendall at the end, so I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you guys are going to love the next chapter.**

 **I'm going to give you a hint. It is 3,308 words of pure Kames, and it was at this point writing it that I truly feel in love with Kendall in this story, so I hope you feel the same.**

 **I feel like the last two weeks are dragging by so slowly, but I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Rekindled. But until then,**

 **TTFN :D**


	7. Chapter 7: Agreements

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So this is a heavy Kames chapter, so I won't keep you!**

* * *

Kendall was rapid in his saddling of Fable, something that James was even impressed by, especially when he made the cocky comment of "I'm ready sir" just to prove the point that he was done, again the word 'sir' also being used as a weapon against James. The older man was quick to catch on to the fact that this was no longer going to be a small jaunt around the estate, but rather a full on competition, one he would have to full out all the stops for. With Kendall riding Fable, James chose to ride his father's horse which, while slightly older than Fable, still had a lot of go in him.

When the two of there were ready, James lead then out of the stable, making sure his riding position was the image of perfection. Of course, he also noticed that Kendall's form was on point, and couldn't help but be distracted by how the muscles in Kendall's arms flex when he would pull on Fable's reigns. Due to James' distraction, he didn't notice the small log that his horse was approaching, and when his horse jumped it, James completely lost balance for a second before recovering.

"Pay attention Sir." Kendall said, riding close to James. "Horses can be wild animals sometimes" he continued, now gaining this own smug look on his face.

"Thank you, Kendall, I'll keep that in mind" James replied, a false smile on his face. When Kendall just chuckled, the two of them settled back into their original riding positions. "Kendall, if you'll follow me, I'll show you around the estate" James shouted, leading the two of them around the back of the house. Kendall was once again astounded by the size of the manor and how it felt like it towered above him. "Come on, let's continue" James said, before galloping away.

Kendall was quick to follow as James lead him round the side of the house and onto a small dirt path which trailed into an orchard full of apples, oranges, lemons and apricots to name a few fruits. "This is my mother's orchard" James began, slowing down so Kendall could ride alongside him. "Kind of like her pet project. I used to help her when I was younger, and sometimes still do on occasion. But mostly, she tends to it with the help of the gardeners. As you can see, she's likes her fruit. Most of the stuff in the house is from here, completely fresh normally"

Kendall was still in awe of the whole place. Sure, he'd seen it when he drove in yesterday, but he hadn't realised quite how far it had expanded, nor what the actual estate included. It seemed like the beauty of the place only seemed to get better, especially when his eyes landed on James. When James turned back, Kendall blushed a little, giving him a small smile which James was quick to return. "You're slouching" James stated, his smile turning smug as he said it. Kendall was quick to straighten his position and reminded himself to not get distracted by the beauty of the place. Of course that was easier said than done.

The two of them trotted through the orchard, and when they reached the other side, James began to pick up the speed again, something Kendall was quick to replicate. The two of them rode in complete silence, simply enjoying each other's company when they arrived at the next location on the tour. "As you saw on the way in, this is our lake" James said, as he started to slow down on his father's horse to the point where he could dismount. Kendall copied James, dismounting Fable as he followed James to a small building that was present by the side of the lake. "And this is our summer house." He continued, as he tied his father's horse against the hitching post present, making sure he wouldn't wonder off Kendall quickly followed suit, the competition being completely forgotten about as he gaped in awe at the building. "We don't use it a lot in the winter, but since the summer is beginning, I can imagine people will start to spend their days down here. Mother likes to sunbath when she can, and father tends to go fishing, seeing what he can catch. Normally, I just go for a swim or something" He said, as he took off his shoes and rolled up the bottom of his trousers. Kendall remained silent as he looked around, finally grasping the size of the place. His eyes land back on James, who was currently sat on the bank of the lake with his feet dangling into the water. "Join me?" James asked, nodding his head towards the water.

"Of course Sir" Kendall replied, taking his boots off, ones that he had worn all day. The feeling was superb, and as soon as they touched the water, his feet were overtaken with a soothing feeling like all the tension was being released. He let out a small sigh as he wriggled his toes on the water, feeling it travel in between them.

"So, how was your first day" James asked, trying to remove the silence between the two of them.

"It was nice sir. I've never worked with someone else, so it was nice to have some help. And it was nice to get to know all of the horses as well. I suppose the only downside was you scaring me twice" Kendall replied, teasing James slightly.

"What can I say? I like to keep you on your feet" James replied, turning towards Kendall, seeing that Kendall was already looking over him.

"Thank you for this sir. I don't know where I'd be now if you hadn't offered me the job. It was mighty kind of you" Kendall said, blushing as he looked down at the floor.

"James" he heard coming from the older male.

"Sorry Sir?" Kendall asked, causing James to chuckle.

"Please, call me James. At least when no one is about"

"Ok, well thank you then, James" Kendall said, his blush intensifying.

"You don't need to thank me Kendall honestly, you deserved this job. I saw how happy you were today, how happy you were when you were singing to Camille, and how happy you looked when you were riding Fable."

"I'm sorry you and Mr Logan walking in on us like that. I can't imagine it was that professional"

"You're seriously apologising for that?" James asked, shock in his voice. "I just said about how happy you looked, and you're apologising for it?"

"Sorry sir" Kendall replied, causing James to laugh.

"You're impossible, you know that right?" James asked, turning to see Kendall with a smug look on his face, with his eyebrow raised. "Were you teasing me?"

"I would never sir" Kendall replied, that smug look on his face.

"Impossible" James just muttered under his breath, as Kendall laughed next to him. The two of them returned to a comfortable silence, with the two of them scooting closer to each other as they did so. The pair of them laid back on the grass, watching as the sun began to set.

"It looks so beautiful here" Kendall said, as the sun began to descend behind the lake.

"Yeah, I know" James said with a small smile as he glanced over at Kendall, fully taking in the smaller boy's form. He was lean all over, and James could only assume that was due to the manual work he'd done for years. He noticed how Kendall's hair wasn't a bright blond, but rather a dirty blond and how his eyes were a green colour, one that James had never seen before. He found himself shuffling a little closer, so that the elbows were touching. After a while, Kendall finally spoke up again.

"James" he began rolling onto his side, so he was facing the older male. James did the same as the two men were face to face all of a sudden. Yet, none of them even tried to move away, nor dared too. "What's it like to be rich? To have so much money that you can do what you want" the blond continued, but James didn't sense any kind of jealously or envy within his voice. Instead he sensed innocence and curiosity, showing Kendall was being genuine with his question. James took a minute to respond, before letting out a small sigh.

"I mean, it's great. I live in a huge house with my own huge room. Like you said, I can do what I want, when I want and I have people waiting on hand and foot to do what I ask them" he began, before rolling onto his back, facing up at the sky again. "But it's also kind of…lonely I guess. I mean I'm surrounded by people all day but there not really my friends, and they don't really want to be there, it's more like they have to. Mother and Father are always busy with something, whether it's mother modelling or father trying to sign up for another political position, so I don't see them much. I have a university lecturer come twice a week, but again she's only here because she has to be. And apart from Logan, I suppose I don't have much in the way of friends" he finished, trying to avoid eye contact with Kendall. The two settled into silence for a few seconds, before Kendall spoke up.

"I want to be here" he heard Kendall say from beside him. "And I can be your friend if you want? I mean, if that's ok?" the voice continued to speak, and when he rolled back over, he saw Kendall was still on his side watching him.

"I'd like that" James replied, smiling back at him.

"I've never had a friend before either, so you'll have to teach me" Kendall continued, letting his thoughts run rampant. "I'm not really sure what friends do either. I mean, I suppose this is a friend thing to do isn't it? Laying here talking while we watch the sun go down together, and riding horses together, and scaring each other" he continued to ramble, and James couldn't help but listen to his voice, but most importantly, the innocence that came with it.

It was clear to James that Kendall was very much new to everything outside of work, and that made James' heart crack slightly. It was from then on, that James vowed to be the best friend Kendall had would ever have, introducing him to all kinds of new things and new places. He'd make sure the blond had the life he deserved.

"That's exactly what friends do" James began, turning to face Kendall. "But they also help each other in times of need, and are always there for one another, whether that be in body or in spirit. I'll always try to look out for you Kendall, no matter what" James replied, causing Kendall's blush to intensity.

"And I'll do the same for you, James, although I don't know how much help I'll be" Kendall replied, causing James to shake his head.

"It doesn't matter as long as you try" he replied, causing Kendall to nod. With that being said, they returned back to their original positions, with Kendall now essentially using James elbow as a headrest with their proximity to each other not that they minded. Kendall's mind was racing with the idea that maybe he was attracted to James after all, and maybe just maybe, that would be ok.

James was considering a similar thing, but he was getting used to the fact that he wanted to spend more and more time with just this one person. It was unusual for him, and something he'd have to get used to. The two of them let out a sigh in sync with one another, and both looked over at each other when they did, a small grin on their faces. The two of them would both describe the moment as perfect, but as we all know, perfect moments don't last forever.

The abrupt end to this one came when Kendall instantly withdrew his feet from the water, causing a huge amount of water to splash straight onto James. Opening his eyes to see why he was suddenly wet, he saw Kendall on his feet as he was scrapping them across the grass.

"What just happened?" James asked, feeling the water start soaking through his clothes, and running down his legs.

"There's something in the lake. It touched me" Kendall replied, still wiping his feet against the grass. James just chuckled as he shook his head.

"That'll be the fish Kendall"

"Fish? There are fish in the lake?"

"Yeah, that's where they live"

"But you said you swim in it? You swim with the fish?!"

"Yeah, they don't seem to bother me after a while, they're just curious"

"They're slimy, that's what they are. Slimy and wet, and gross and slimy" Kendall replied, as he finally stopped rubbing his feet against the grass.

"You know, I'd never pegged you to be someone who's scared of fish" James said, his voice returning to his teasing state.

"I ain't scared, James, just shocked is all. I ain't never seen a live fish, and I didn't expect one to nibble on my feet" Kendall replied, his voice serious as he stared back at James.

"Well, if you aren't scared, then why don't you help me feed them. We keep some fish food in the summer house in case we want to during the summer" James replied, before returning to his teasing voice. "But, if you're scared, you don't have to"

"I said, James, I ain't scared. And I'll happy feed em'" Kendall replied, causing James to nod his head over his shoulder before walking to the summer house. When they stepped instead, Kendall was instantly in awe again, with the place being twice if not three times the size of the room his mum and Katie shared. The decorations were all bright colours, obviously representing the summer, and the room had a sofa and a few chairs, as well as a small decking that went out over the lake. The decking had a small barbecue, as well as a couple deck chairs.

"Summer's the only time we actually cook for ourselves" James said, as he noticed Kendall looking at the barbecue. "It's kind of sad actually. I'd love to learn how to cook like Carlos does, his meals are always so good"

"You could always ask him" Kendall said with a shrug as he walked onto the decking. "I'm sure he'd be willing to teach you. I mean, you know Carlos better than I do, but he seems like a great guy, so I can't imagine he'll say no" he continued, as he stared out on the lake. Now he was looking for them, Kendall could see all the fish swimming around. Some were a bright orange colour and huge, while others were relatively smaller and a multitude of colours.

"Maybe" James said, as he walked next to Kendall, holding a small tub in his hand. "Here, grab a handful and just throw it in" he continued, before grabbing a handful for himself, and doing exactly that. Kendall noticed how all the fish raced towards them and swam right up to the surface to get the food. Kendall followed James' instruction, throwing a load more food in, and the two of them stood there peacefully as they watched the fish swim about eating the food. Kendall laughed as one of the bigger fish essentially rammed one of the smaller ones out of the way to try and get the last piece of food, and James' couldn't help but listen to Kendall's laugh. It sounded so genuine, like at that moment, there was nothing else bothering the young man, like he was truly content.

* * *

When nightfall finally descended on the estate, the two of them decided to call it a day. As the rode back up to the house, they both exchanged a few sneaky glances, but neither of them said anything until they reached the stable. With James' dad's horse and Fable back in their pens, Kendall began to lock up the stable.

"You know, I really had fun today James" Kendall said, trying to use James' name as much as possible before he had to say sir again. He liked the way it sounded when he said it.

"So I did. It was nice to spend some time with you, outside of work you know" James said, briefly forgetting the two days they'd spent together on the train. Of course, that was still in some sort of formal capacity, due to James' dad also being in the carriage. "Maybe we could do it again some time?" And that caused Kendall to blush massively, as he nodded his head.

"I'd like that James" he replied, causing a smile to grow on James' face. "I best get to sleep. I've got to get up early tomorrow. And Fable's gonna need a proper wash tomorrow"

"Of course, good night Kendall" James replied, nodding his head towards the younger male, before the two of them went their separate ways, both of them currently sitting on cloud 9 at the thought of spending more time together. As Kendall walked back into his room, he found Carlos sat on the bed with a notepad, as he tapped the pencil against his bottom lip.

"You alright there?" Kendall asked, causing Carlos to snap out of his own little world.

"Jesus… Yeah, I'm just trying to come up with some new recipes" he replied, setting his pencil and notepad down. As Kendall sighed, Carlos was quick to question him. "Rough day?"

"Long" Kendall replied, a small smile growing on his face. "But not too bad for a first day"

"You know, a shower always helps me unwind, and let some tension out. The towels are in the bottom cupboard there" Carlos replied, pointing to a small draw unit.

"Thanks" Kendall replied with a smile as he grabbed the towels and made his way back to the door. "I'll see you in a minute"

"And you'll tell me all about your day" Carlos replied, causing Kendall to blush as he shut the door. Making his way to the shower room, he could hear a couple of showers already running, but he didn't expect the site he was greeted with. As he walked in, he saw Bitters with only a towel wrapped around his waist, so luckily, he didn't see much.

The blond gasped, before putting his hand over his eyes in an attempt to shield them from the site. He eventually made his way over to the shower where he instantly felt dirty, more from the site he'd seen than the actual dirt covering his body. Twenty minutes of boiling water and a bar of soap later, and Kendall's body finally felt clear but he doubted whether his mind would actually recover. Of course, he was being massively dramatic but this was the first time the blond boy had actually seen anything like that, so it was a bit scarring.

He spent the rest of the night describing his day to Carlos, but he purposely felt out the parts about the two of them laying on the grass together or feeding the fish. He wanted that to be his and James' memory only for some unknown selfish reason. He could only hope that James felt the same. The did mention how James wanted to learn how to cook, and while Carlos seemed shocked at first, he said that he'd be willing to help, something that Kendall was happy about, but also became slightly jealous over.

* * *

 **So there we have it! By far this was one of my favourite chapters to write for this story so far, as I found Kendall so adorable and sweet and innocent! Let me know what you think!**

 **A massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11 and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm glad to see you enjoyed it! The two of them have definitely met their match in each other, as this chapter shows in the beginning at least. I'm also glad to see that you enjoyed the introduction of Logan into the story!**

 **In other news, E3 are currently live streaming their press conferences so I am watching them all since I am a massive video games nerd! It's worth it though, as I am so excited for some of the games that have been mentioned!**

 **I will see you guys on Thursday for the next chapter of Rekindled, but until then**

 **TTFN :D**


	8. Chapter 8: Oblivious

**Hi guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character. A massive thank you for the support on the last chapter, and let get to it shall we?**

* * *

Despite the fact this would only be Kendall's second day at the manor, the blond felt like he had already slotted himself into a routine. Carlos woke him up early again, and the two men pottered about as they got ready. They sat together while Carlos started to cook breakfast, with Kendall trying to chip in as well, by placing the toast in the toaster. He was amazed by how the machine worked, sitting there watching as the bread began to warm. When the machine dinged, Kendall quickly reached in and grabbed the bread, and after a few choice words due to their heat, the blond tried to help butter them, with him and Carlos maintaining conversation expertly.

Camille and Lucy were next to join, making a few comments about Kendall attempt, mostly filled with some light-hearted ridicule before they began to help by setting the table. Breakfast was running smoothly with the rest of the servants filtering it, and Kendall realised that there were a couple of people he hadn't chatted to yet. He recalled their names were Peggy and Jenny from when Lucy gave them their tasks yesterday, but other than that he knew very little about them. He also noticed that while they would chat to everyone else, they seemed to avoid him and blush every time he spoke directly to one of them. The blond was unsure of the reason, but he knew he could try to resolve it. When it came to sit at the table for breakfast, Kendall chose to sit opposite the two girls in an attempt to get to know they.

"Hi, I'm Kendall. I don't think we've properly met" he said, a smile plastered on his face to try and appear friendly. As soon as he spoke, the two girls reddened.

"We know, you're the new stable hand" Peggy replied, causing Kendall to nod.

"Right, and you two are Peggy and Jenny, correct?" He asked, looking at the two girls respectively. When they nodded, Kendall smile grew a little bigger, proud of himself that he'd remembered their names. "Cool! I'm trying to get to know everyone, and I realised that I don't know much about you two" he replied, ignoring the fact that he didn't know much about anyone considering it was only his second day.

"You want to get to know us?" Jenny replied, his voice kind of high and dreamy. When Kendall nodded, the two girls exchanged a glance, almost like they'd been blessed by the lord, before the both began to speak. And boy did they speak.

"I'm from Oakland, and I loved it there. That's why when this job became available, I took it" Peggy spoke up, before Jenny took over.

"Well, I'm from Albuquerque, which is so much closer to Wichita, which is where you're from right?" Jenny said, causing Kendall to nod now becoming slightly confused by the conversation.

"So, what do you do around here. I heard Lucy yesterday, and it sounded like you are maids?" Kendall asked, causing the two girls to nod.

"Kind of, yeah. We're the personal hands to Mr and Mrs Diamond, so we're like really close to them." Peggy said, causing Jenny to nod.

"Yeah, so if you ever need anything, you could ask us, because we could probably have it done" Jenny replied, winking at Kendall as they did so. The blond became flustered, but it wasn't the same type of flustered as when James did it, it was more of an uncomfortable flustered.

"So, you're a stable hand. That must be real tough, and I bet you have to be super strong to do it" Peggy asked, causing Kendall to shake is head slightly.

"It's not that hard, it's just time consuming really."

"But I bet it takes so much work, and your muscles must ache after it" Jenny chimed in. "So, if you ever want to, you know, unwind, then just let me know." She said again, causing Kendall to choke on his food slightly. Luckily, he was saved when the bells on the wall started to ring.

"Peggy, Jenny, get to work!" Lucy shouted from up the table, causing the two girls to scramble to their feet. They both gave Kendall a wink and a flirtatious wave before they headed off.

"Kendall, you ready?" he heard, and he nodded before following Camille out, completely lost for words. "So, Peggy and Jenny eh?" Camille said, as she started to let all the horses back out into the field.

"They were…" Kendall replied, struggling to find a word to describe it, as he let out the horses on the other side.

"I believe the word is flirting" Camille said, turning to see Kendall blush slightly.

"If that was flirting, then I don't want to experience it again" the blond replied, causing Camille to chuckle.

"That was tactless flirting. If someone where doing it right, I bet you wouldn't know they were flirting with you until you'd fallen for them" she replied, causing Kendall shake his head.

"Please, I'd know if someone were flirting with me" Kendall replied, trying to be cocky.

"Oh sweetie." Camille began, placing her hand onto Kendall's upper arm, and giving it a squeeze. "You wouldn't have a clue" she continued, battering her eyelashes as she did so. Kendall was completely oblivious to the action as he continued to speak.

"I would so have a clue. I'd know it straight away!" He replied, causing Camille to burst out into laughter. "What?" Kendall asked, as the last of the horses were let out into the field.

"You're so precious" she began, grabbing a rake and passing it to Kendall. "And totally oblivious to flirting"

"What's this about flirting?" the two of them heard a voice from the front of the barn, one quickly recognised from Kendall as James.

"Camille believes that I wouldn't know if someone where flirting with me" he said, rather casually, before realising that he was in a work environment. "Sorry, sir. You didn't need to know that."

"It's fine Kendall." James said, before turning to Camille. "But I totally agree with Camille on this one. You are so oblivious to it" he continued, with a wink causing a smile to grow on Camille's face, while Kendall just let out a dismissive sigh.

"Told ya so" Camille quickly added, causing James to chuckle. "Anyway, what can we do for you Sir?" she continued, causing James to clear his throat in an attempt to remain professional.

"Oh, I came to let you know that I will be collecting Kendall at 5pm tonight" James replied, causing Kendall to raise an eyebrow at James.

"May I ask why sir?" Kendall replied, causing James to shake his head.

"You may not. But all will be revealed later" the taller male replied, causing Kendall to throw James a confused look. When James just winked in return, the feeling returned, this time one that made his all shy and warm inside. "I'll see you later" was James final statement, before he walked out of the barn. As soon as he disappeared, Camille was quick to speak up.

"Now that was flirting!" she said, causing Kendall's blush to intensify.

"No, he was just being nice" Kendall replied, his voice quiet and shy.

"Nice? The dude winked at you Kendall, and he's coming to get you later! He was so flirting with you!" She squealed, causing Kendall to shake his head.

"No, he was just being friendly." Kendall replied, causing Camille to chuckle.

"So precious" was all she replied with, before the two of them turned on the radio and got to work. The whole day, Kendall tried to ignore what Camille had said, but every now and again it would work itself back into Kendall's brain. And every time it did, the blush on Kendall's face would grow.

Sure, Kendall knew that he was maybe developing a small crush on James. He'd established this on the train ride here, but the thought of James having the same feelings was just preposterous.

' _He was just being friendly is all.'_ Kendall kept telling himself. Because if he believed that James had a crush on him, then things could easily become messy.

* * *

Kendall knew that 5pm had struck, because James was perfectly on time. "You ready Kendall?" he asked, causing the smaller boy to nod.

"Yeah, let me just put some bits away" Kendall replied, noticing that a blush was not becoming part of an immediate reaction to when James was round. As Kendall placed his brush away, Camille approached him. "Are you sure you're going to be ok?" he asked, causing Camille to nod.

"Kendall, I was doing this by myself for 2 years before you showed up. I think I can cope. The question is, will you be ok?" she asked, a smug smile growing on her face.

Kendall just shook his head as he replied "I'll be fine, causing nothing is going on."

"Well, tell me everything tomorrow, and I'll be the judge of that" Camille replied, causing Kendall to smile as he shook his head. On the walk back over to James, Camille gave Kendall a wink before getting back to work.

"So, where are we going sir?" Kendall asked, as they began to walk away from the stable.

"To my personal study" James replied, with a shrug of his shoulders, like it was the most casual thing ever.

"May I ask why sir?" he continued, causing James to shake his head.

"I told you. You'll find you when you get there" James replied, as he began to walk up the stairs in the house. Kendall froze slightly, remembering what James had read to him in the contract. _"Only the maids are allowed upstairs in the house. Any breach in that could be classed as a violation of privacy"_ James voice said in his mind. When James realised that Kendall was no longer behind him, the older male turned around, seeing Kendall panicking on the bottom step. "Come on" James said, nodding his head towards the first floor.

"Are you sure sir? The contract said…" Kendall trailed off, causing James to chuckle.

"It's fine Kendall. I'm inviting you upstairs, so if anyone says anything, then I'll deal with it" he replied, causing Kendall to swallow a large lump in his throat as he quickly followed James up the stairs. He was once again in awe because of the house, with the upstairs being decorated superbly. Family portraits hung from the walls, and Kendall spotted one with James in when he looked about 5 or 6.

"I was a cute kid right?" James said, when he noticed Kendall was staring the photo.

"Your hair was kind of long" Kendall said, without no filter causing James to chuckle.

"I thought it looked good" James replied, causing Kendall to nod.

"It did" was all he said, before following James further down the hallway. He continued to stare at the family portraits, noticing as how they went on, the people in them seemed to change. He could only assume that these much have gone back for generations. Slightly trailing behind, Kendall didn't notice when James turned a corner, causing him to get lost. The situation only worsened when he heard a door open, and a voice begin to speak.

"What the hell do you think you are doing up here? You know this area is off limits to most servants" the voice said, and Kendall winced slightly at the word servant. When he turned around, he was faced with a woman who he instantly knew was Mrs Diamond. She had the same skin tone as James, as well as sharing the same eye and hair colours.

"I'm sorry Ma'am. I got lost" Kendall replied, causing the woman to snap quickly.

"Well, you shouldn't be up here in the first place. What is your name boy, and I want to be sure when I report this to my husband" she replied, her voice completely condescending. Kendall was shocked into silence, but luckily James came to Kendall's rescue.

"That won't be necessary mother. I asked Kendall to follow me up here, and I told him to wait here while I sorted something out" James lied, as he walked over to Kendall.

"You know the rules James" Mrs Diamond said, causing James to snort.

"And I believe the rules say I'm allowed to bring guests upstairs. Well, since Kendall has finished his work for today, he's considered as a guest" he replied, a smug smile growing on his face.

"Very well, sweetie" she replied, her voice suddenly becoming softer. "Just don't leave him alone ok" she continued, causing James to nod.

"Of course" James replied, before turning to Kendall. "Come on, follow me"

"Of course Sir. And I'm sorry to have frightened you ma'am" Kendall said, before following James at a brisk pace. When the two of them finally reached James' study, Kendall let out a rather large sigh.

"Sorry about my mother" James began gesturing Kendall to a seat. "But, she doesn't like people upstairs"

"She was so scary. But then she became so nice" Kendall said on autopilot, causing James to chuckle.

"Well, she loves me so" James replied with a shrug. "Anyway, now that we are here, we can begin" he continued, causing to tilt his head slightly.

"Begin what?" he asked, and in response, James pulled out a massive chalk board.

"Teaching you how to read" James replied, a massive smile beaming on his face. "I know you said that you couldn't read, and I said that I'd teach you, so I spent this morning getting ready. I thought we could start off with the alphabet and go from there. Maybe if you are up to it, we could start with some sounds as well" James continued, as he began to ramble. "I put a lot of thought into this, so if you still want to learn, then I'm ready to teach! Of course, if you don't then that's fine as well. I mean, no pressure or anything. And if I'm moving too fast, or anything just let me know. I don't want to overstep my bounds, but I thought since I mentioned it, I probably should do it." Throughout the whole thing, Kendall remained silent, his mind still trying to process that James had actually done this for him.

 _'So this is what it is like to have a friend'_ was a thought that kept reoccurring and warming his heart. No one else had ever been willing to do this for him.

"Kendall, do you still want to?" James asked, snapping the blond boy out of his thoughts. When Kendall looked into James' eyes, he could see that they older male was on edge. Almost like if Kendall refused, then he'd shatter into pieces.

"I can't believe you've done this for me" Kendall replied, a huge smile on his face. "Of course I want you to teach me" he continued, and James let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding.

"And don't worry about getting anything wrong. I asked for us not to be disturbed, so it will only be the two of us ok" James said, causing Kendall to blush.

The two of them.

Alone.

In a room.

With noone coming to check.

The blond quickly shook the thoughts out of his mind, and when he looked up at James, he saw the older male was his eyebrow raised.

"How do we start?" Kendall asked, ignoring the look James was giving him.

"We'll start with the alphabet. You know, a, b, c" James said, causing Kendall to look down at the floor in the simple fact that he didn't know A B C. James was quick to catch wind of this. "Don't worry. That's why were going to learn" James said, placing his hand onto Kendall's shoulder as he kneeled down in front of him. "You ready?" James asked, causing Kendall to nod.

* * *

 **So there we are! We had Kendall chatting to Peggy and Jenny, only to have the two of them flirt with him, making him very uncomfortable bless him. Camille was quick to pick up on it, but Kendall was completely oblivious to everything. We also had James flirt in front of Camille, something that she picked up on and she seemed to be fine with it... Then, we had the beginning of the Kames reading lesson. Don't worry, the next chapter will include the lesson itself. I wasn't going to miss out on that opportunity!**

 **A massive thank you to Guest, RainbowDiamonds and Winterschild11 for reviewing the last chapter and I am so pleased that you enjoyed it! Like I said, that was easily one of my favourite chapter I have written just because I thought it was so sweet, and I'm so glad you agree! Your reviews made me so happy!**

 **I will see you guys on Thursday for the final chapter of Rekindled, which I am really sad about but all good things must come to an end. (Can I say that? Am I allowed to call my own work good?) But until then,**

 **TTFN :D**


	9. Chapter 9: Reading and Reactions

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! I have very little to say here, so let's crack on shall we?**

* * *

About an hour and a half passed, with the two of them sounding out the alphabet. James would say a letter, while pointing to it on the board, and Kendall would try to repeat the letter. This way, when we tried to read, he would be able to sound out the words in an attempt to try and say them and when he learnt how to write, he already knew what letters looked like. James got Kendall trying to spell his own name out loud as well as James' and so far, it was going really well.

"You're doing great Kendall!" James had said on many occasions, and Kendall was starting to feel a little more comfortable with his ability. It wasn't like he'd mastered the ability to read, but he was starting to get a grasp on it. "Ok, so I want you to try and read some words from the board ok?" James asked, causing Kendall's face to pale slightly as he nodded. James pointed to a three letter, and Kendall could see the letters were C A and T in that order.

"C, C A, C A T" Kendall said, trying to suss it out "Cat!" he yelled at the end, knowing that he'd got it. He'd heard the word cat lots of times, but know he actually knew how to spell it.

"Nice going! And this one?" James replied, pointing to the next word, this one the letters being D O and G "D O G, Dog" Kendall replied, sounding the word out, before saying it with certainty, knowing he was right, as it was another word he'd heard regularly.

"Ok, now this word is a little longer, but I still want you to try ok?" James said, his voice soft and reassuring. Kendall nodded, before James pointed to the word on the board. He could see it was five letters long and began with a H. "H, O, R, S, E" Kendall said, sounding out the letters individually first. "HO HOR HORS HORSE" Kendall continued to sound the word out, before it clicked. "Is it horse?" Kendall asked, causing James to nod, his face littered with a huge smile.

"Well done! You did so well!" James replied, trying not to sound condescending. James looked so happy, and Kendall couldn't help but smile as well, as the praise continued with James clasping Kendall on the shoulder. "You should be really proud of yourself you know. You've done so well already. I'm so proud of you" James continued, causing Kendall to blush.

"Thank you, James." Kendall replied, smiling back at the older male. James settled into the seat next to Kendall, before he continued to speak.

"I don't mean to pry, and if you don't want to answer, you don't have too, but how come you've never learnt before?" James said, causing the jovial atmosphere in the room to disappear. When James saw Kendall's face visibly change, he quickly to back track. "You know what, never mind. It was rude of me to ask. I'm sorry" he began, causing Kendall to shake his head.

"No, it's fine. I…It's" Kendall began, struggling to get his words out for a moment as he began to choke up. "When I was younger, I did go to school for a few hours a week, as it was all Mum and Dad could afford. So, I got the grasp of a few basic things"

"Like counting to 20" James interrupted, causing Kendall to nod.

"That, and some basic maths as well. That's how I knew I was owed more at the Morgan's" Kendall stopped, before taking in a rather large breath, his eyes starting to fill with water. "But, at the age of 8, dad got into a mining accident, and he…" Kendall couldn't quite finish the sentence. James didn't say anything but nodded showing Kendall that he was listening to what he was saying. "So, when it happened, most of the income in the family stopped. Mum got a job at the local bakery, but they wouldn't pay her very well, so I felt like since I could, I should step up and try to help out. I quit school, and began to work as a chimney sweep, which was alright money but within two years, I got to wide to fit down the chimney's so they got rid of me. Really, I was lucky to find a job with the Morgan's. They said they pay me enough to keep my family a float and no more" Kendall continued, tears now strolling down his face.

"Oh Kendall, you don't have to continue," James said, as he could see the poor boy was dealing with a lot.

"No, it's fine." Kendall replied, wiping the tears from his eyes. "It's probably time I told someone anyway." He continued, before taking another huge breath. "The Morgan's were scamming me, and when they said 'enough to keep them a float' what they actually meant was 'enough for them to eat about once a week' so they were starving as much as I was. Of course, I couldn't say anything about it to the Morgan's because if I lost my job, then they wouldn't have enough money to eat at all so I continued to work there, trying my best to work harder to earn a little bit more money. When Katie got old enough, she started to work as a seamstress and since then, they've been able to eat a little more often" Kendall looked up at James to see that the hazel eyed man was staring intently at him, listening to every word. "That's why I freaked out at the Morgan's when you said it was in California, because being here meant I wouldn't be able to look out for them, and provide them with money, and that's why I freaked out on the train, when you said it was two days away cause any hope of me trying to get home now would be useless. And of course, I don't know how to write, so I wouldn't be able to send them letters to make sure they are all ok, and I don't know anything anymore about them, and I'm so worried" Kendall finally finished, as he fully broke down hiding his head in his hands as he cried. He felt James wrap his arms around his waist, and pull him closer, causing Kendall to push his face right into the crook of James' neck as he cried, all social etiquette out of the window.

"That's it, let it all out" James said, as he began to rub Kendall's back. "It'll be ok Kendall. I'm sure they are doing fine. You've only been away for four days, so I'm sure they are coping ok" James continued, causing Kendall to nod into James' neck even though he was still crying. "And, I'd be happy to help you write a letter to them to see if they are ok"

"Really?" He heard Kendall ask, his voice muffled and quavering.

"Of course, I mean, that's what friends do Kendall. They help each other whenever they can. I'd be more than happy to help you write a letter home, and I promise to write down whatever you say. I won't change it or anything, so it's one hundred percent you" James replied, causing Kendall to pull back slightly, the two of them still in the hug with each other. Despite the fact that he was in tears, Kendall loved the feeling of having James' arms wrapped around his, and on the flip side, James loved having the smaller male in his arms. "Come on. Let me grab some paper, and a pen and we can write it" James said, finally releasing his arms from Kendall, despite the fact that he didn't want to. James moved over to his desk, with Kendall following, and pulled out a fountain pen, as well as small stack of paper from his desk. "So, what do you want to say?" James asked, pen at the ready.

"Um, just something like 'Dear Mum and Katie, I miss you so much, and I hope you are all ok. California is really nice, and hotter than I expected, and the Diamonds are super nice. I really hope that you guys are ok, and that this was the right choice to make. Please write back if you can. Love Kendall?'" Kendall said, questioning it at the end. James was furiously scribbling down what Kendall had said, and when he was finished the read it back to the younger boy. "Does that sound ok?" Kendall asked, causing James to nod.

"It sounds perfect. It sounds just like you" James replied, causing Kendall to blush as he smiled.

"Thank you, James. You keep doing so much for me, I don't think I can ever repay you" Kendall replied, causing James to shake his head.

"You don't need to repay me Kendall, I'm more than happy to help out. I told you on the train here, that we would do everything to help you settle in, and I even said that nothing would stop you from sending a letter home didn't it?" James replied, a smug smile on his face. "I'll make sure this is posted as soon as it dries, trust me" he continued, causing Kendall to smile.

"Thank you, James," Kendall said again, this time going in for another hug, one James was quick to accept. "I've truly never met anyone like you. You're just so nice, and I can't thank you enough" Kendall continued, causing James to chuckle.

"And I've never met anyone like you" James replied, as Kendall pulled out of the hug.

 _The two of them stood there for a few seconds, not quite sure what to say, before James wrapped his arms around Kendall's neck, pulling the smaller boy closer. The two of them locked eyes, and James started to lean in, and then Kendall started to lean in, and their lips were inches apart and…_

"Kendall?" James asked, snapping the blond out of his trance. When Kendall zoned back in, his face instantly went red, what he just imagined running rampant through his mind.

"I should probably head off" Kendall said, his voice quiet and shy.

"Are you sure? I'm more than happy for you to stay a little longer. We could continue with the lesson if you wanted?" James said, feeling slightly disheartened.

"I'm sure. After crying, I feel like I just want to get into bed" Kendall replied, seeing the look on James' face. "I'm sorry"

"No, it's fine. I don't blame you. Let me at least walk you down. And if you ever want to talk, just ask ok? No matter what time it is, just ask"

"Even if it's 3am?" Kendall asked, trying to make light of the situation.

"Even if it's 3am" James replied, causing Kendall to blush again. The walk down was quiet and comfortable, with James' arm making its way across Kendall's shoulder as they walked. The pair of them said goodbye to each other at the door, and as soon as the separated, James had one destination in mind.

* * *

Luckily, when James walked into the living room, he saw that both his parents were sat there, and this would make the whole thing a lot easier. His mother was reading a magazine as usual, while he father was reading the local newspaper. It didn't seem like the two of them had noticed him walking so he started to make his way over to the sofa opposite the one his parents were sitting on.

"Are you just going to shuffle awkwardly?" Henry asked, with a small chuckle at the end, one that Brooke also seemed to join in with.

"Sorry, I didn't think you'd heard me come in" James replied, as his two parents put down their reading material. "Anyway, I was hoping I could ask you something. It's about Kendall" he continued, causing his father to raise an eyebrow at him, silently gesturing him to continue. "I was wondering if you could bring his mother and sister…" was as far as he got before he was interrupted.

"James, we don't need any more help, we have to much as it is" his father replied, his voice soft but stern.

"Please, just hear me out. Kendall told me that they were struggling to eat and I just thought that by bringing them here, they could earn their keep, you know, be well looked after" James replied, causing Henry to sigh.

"James, I hate to be rude, but we aren't a charity service. We can't just employ people because they are struggling. If we did, then we'd have half of Oakland working here as well" Henry responded, but James didn't seem deterred. Instead, he changed tactic, pulling out the sympathy card.

"Mum, how would you feel if I was moving two days away, and you knew that you may never see me again?" he asked, but before she could respond, James continued. "They're the only family Kendall has. His father died when he was 8, so he's been looking after them ever since and now he's so worried because he's so far away, and he doesn't know what situation they are in. They could be starving, and Kendall is so worried about them. Please? I mean, his mother could work in the gardens. You always say that they need more of a feminine touch mother, and this could be it! And his sister, well Kendall said she was working, so I'm sure she could do something here" James said, almost begging to his parents. He could see his mother's expression soften at what James had said, and he could see his father was thinking it through.

After a few minutes, Henry finally spoke up. "You will be responsible for them. If they do anything wrong, it's on you James. I'm serious" Henry said, causing a massive smile to grow on James' face.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" James replied, pulling his mother into an unexpected hug. "I promise, nothing will go wrong, I'll make sure of it, I swear" he continued, now hugging his father.

"Well, I best make preparations for the train to leave. I assume you'll be going to collect them?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow at James. The 21 year old was shocked for a moment, before nodding.

"Yeah, of course. I'll pack my bags right away." James replied, obviously not thinking this part of his plan through.

"Very well" his father replied, before leaving the room. His mother offered him a small smile, and a kiss on the cheek before she left the room as well. James let out a sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that Kendall was going to be so happy to see his family again. And for some reason, knowing that Kendall was going to be happy, made James' heart swell with happiness of his own.

* * *

While his father made preparations for the train, James had some preparations to make for himself, the biggest one being that he needed to tell Kendall he was leaving for a couple of days. Of course, he wouldn't tell the younger male why, but he was hoping it would be worth it to see the surprise on Kendall's face when he returned. Of course, none of that prepared James for the look on Kendall's face now.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Kendall asked, a dejected look on his face.

"It's only for about a week. Father wanted me to talk to a few clients by myself to see if I was any good" James replied, the lie quick and easy.

"But what about our lessons?" Kendall asked, knowing that was the best way to phrase 'But what about all the time we spend alone together.'

"Like I said, I'll only be gone for about a week. And I promise as soon as I get back everything will continue like usual." James replied, placing his hand in Kendall's shoulder. "Everything" he repeated again, causing Kendall to smile.

"Ok, I'll see you in a week. Say safe" Kendall said, taking a brief look to see if anyone was around. When he saw no one was, he quickly pulled James into a hug, wrapping his arms around the older man. "Is it weird, if I say that I'm going to miss you?" Kendall asked, his face buried in James' chest, a blush creeping onto it.

"Not at all. I'm going to miss you as well" James replied, returning the hug. "But like I said, it won't be for very long and I promise everything will be alright when I get back" Pulling out of the hug, Kendall flashed James another small smile, before James began to leave the house. Due to it being late at night, Kendall wasn't worried about him waving the older male off, and at this point, if anyone did catch him, he didn't really care.

The last he saw of James was the older male stepping into the car and giving him a wave back. As the car left the estate, Kendall could already feel himself starting to become a bit emotional, so he quickly made his way back to his room, the main thought in his mind being what if James never returned.

And that thought made a stray tear roll down his face.

* * *

 **So there we are! We had the reading lesson, as well as Kendall telling James a little bit about his past, with Kendall crying in James' arms! Of course, James took the most drastic gesture ever, and has now decided to go grab Jennifer and Katie. I wonder where the story will go from here?**

 **A massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11 and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Kendall is completely clueless about James' feelings towards him and also completely oblivious to the flirting that is going on, bless his sweet little heart!**

 **I will see you guys on Thursday for my new story Love, James which I am very excited to see what you guys think! But until then,**

 **TTFN :D**


	10. Chapter 10: Innocent

**Hi guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! I don't really have a lot to say here, so let's crack on with it shall we?**

* * *

When James left the estate, Kendall seemed to enter some sort of daze. He'd get up in the morning, get breakfast, go to work, have dinner and then go back to his room where he'd continue to recite the alphabet to himself using a hand out that James had given him. Other than that, the blond hardly did anything. When looking after the horses, he seemed to put in as little effort as possible to try and get a semi acceptable reward, and luckily, Camille hadn't picked up on it so far. His work was spectacular anyway, so if anything his work about have only been downgraded to 'excellent.'

Every time he saw a car drive onto the estate, Kendall's heart would behind to flutter, hoping that James had maybe returned home early, but it was always some business partner of Mr Diamonds, or a friend of Mrs Diamonds, and never the man he was looking for. A dramatic as it sounds, it's seemed like Kendall's life had almost come to a stop, with him only doing what was necessary of him and nothing more.

Still, he knew it was better than working for the Morgan's so he was grateful to James for that.

Carlos was the first person to pick up on Kendall's lowered energy levels, and on the second day of James being away, he thought it was best to question the boy on it.

"Are you ok Kendall, you seem a little…down" Carlos said, when Kendall had returned to the room that night. The blond had walked in, and instantly fallen onto his bed.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired" Kendall mumbled into the pillow, hoping Carlos would buy the lie.

"Ok, I just thought I would check. You seem to have been a little out of it, ever since Mr Diamond left" Carlos replied with a shrug, hoping to keep the conversation light-hearted while still trying to get what he could out Kendall. Kendall of course, blushed instantly at the connection Carlos had made, and tried to keep it as discreet as possible.

"Like I said, I'm just a little tired." He replied, causing Carlos to nod.

"Of course. I mean, it's not like you and James were close" the Latino replied, his voice a little sarcastic and this time getting attention from Kendall. The blond turned his head, so his cheek was now resting against the pillow, eyes staring directly at Carlos.

"What do you mean by that?" Kendall asked, blush creeping onto his face.

"Nothing, I just saying that you and James seemed to be getting on quite well, and since he's left, you've been a little down." Carlos continued, causing Kendall to redden instantly. "You don't have to be ashamed Kendall, it's natural for you to be sad when a friend leaves. But just remember that he will be back." he continued, as he sat at the end of Kendall's bed. "Besides, until then, you and I can hang out!" Carlos added onto the end, causing Kendall to chuckle.

"Thank you, Carlos," Kendall replied, as he pulled himself up from the bed.

"So, how about a game of cards? You know how to play?" Carlos asked, causing Kendall to shake his head. "No worries, I'll teach you" Carlos continued, and Kendall instantly though of how James was teaching him, slightly throwing him back into his depressive mood.

* * *

As expected, James wasn't fairing any better. Two days of being stuck on the train was bad enough, but at least he had some company last time. This time, he was completely alone, with nothing to do but watch the scenery go past. He was massively grateful when the train pulled into the Wichita Station, and he was quick to jump off of the train to get some actual fresh air.

After a quick chat with the conductor, James was told that the train would be departing back to Oakland in 5 hours, allowing him some time for food as well as collecting Jennifer and Katie. Straightening out his jacket, James remembered what Kendall said about Jennifer working in a bakery and decided to head their first. After all, he could use the excuse of grabbing some food to start a conversation with Jennifer.

On his last trip, James hadn't really ventured into the town so this was all new to him. The size of it was nothing compared to Oakland, as was its level of development and yet, that made James struggle more. People were moving in all sorts of direction, not worrying about looking out for any cars that were on the streets, not that there many anyway. Mostly it was horses and wagon being guided through the streets, along with a lot of shouting for people to move out of the way, or to watch out for the horses. James tried to make his way onto Central Avenue, and started to look for bakeries, as if it were a simple task.

Luckily, a couple of the locals were friendly enough to offer him directions, and he quickly found his way to the most popular bakery in Wichita. God, did he hope this was the right one. Walking in, he noticed a few people were queuing but it was nothing to severe so he waited his turn. The bakery seemed quaint, with a few tables being set up for the customers to sit and each. He noticed the variety of food that was on display, from Belgium buns and eclairs, to more savoury items like pastry sausage rolls and pasties. While he was deciding what he wanted, the queue in front seemed to dissipate quickly, leaving him faced with a red haired woman.

"Hello Sir, how many I help you today?" She asked, with a little curtsy at the end, to show her respect.

"Um, may I have a large sausage roll please?" James replied, smiling at the woman as he did so. While she got to work, James started to ask a few questions. "Also, I was wondering if this is the bakery that a Mrs Knight works at?" he asked, causing the woman in front of him to tense slightly.

"It's Ms Knight sir" she replied, handing the sausage roll to James in a small paper bag. "And without being rude, like I told Mr Garrett's men last time, I will pay the loan back in full. I'm just running low on money at the moment and will need to time to get it all" she continued, now standing there with her hand on her hip, and stern look on her face.

"Loan?" James replied, as he raised his eyebrow at the woman. "I'm not here about a loan, I'm here on behalf of Kendall Knight. I'm James Diamond, his new employer?" he clarified, seeing the woman in front of him relax slightly.

"Oh, well then, I beg your pardon sir" She replied, hoping James would forgive her. That was until she remembered what James had said. "Wait, Kendall? Has something happened to him? Is he ok?" she asked, her voice now returning back to its previous panicked state.

"I assure you ma'am, Kendall is fine, if not slightly worried about you. That's why I'm here" James replied, with a charming smile on his face.

He was about to speak up again, when we heard someone shout "Jennifer! I'm not paying you to chat! Get your ass back to work" from the back of the store. It was clearly a male voice, and not a happy one at that. The owner of the voice emerged, wiping his hands on a tea towel as he did so, and as soon as he saw James stood there, the man turned sheepish as he bowed. "Excuse me Sir, I didn't expect Jennifer to be serving a gentleman like yourself" he replied, hoping that would appease James.

Of course, the brunet male was not at all impressed. "I don't think it matters who she is serving, language such as that should never be used" James began, causing the man to redden with embarrassment. "Now if you don't mind, I need to speak to Jennifer in private for a few minutes, regarding her son" he continued, his voice stern. He looked over to see Jennifer has a small smug smile on her face, while it was clear that the manager was shitting bricks.

"O-Of course s-sir. Have a good day" the man continued, before bowing toward James.

"If you'll follow me?" James said to Jennifer, causing the red-haired woman to curtsy, before releasing herself from behind the till. James led the two of them over to a small table.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is this about sir?" Jennifer asked, as she removed her apron, and scrunched it up into a ball.

"I've come with a job offer for both you and daughter, Katie" James began, causing Jennifer to raise her eyebrow to the young male. "Kendall told me about your…financial position, and he was very wary about how you were coping without him." James began, causing Jennifer to chuckle slightly.

"That's my Kendall alright. Always putting everyone else before himself" she said absentmindedly, causing a smile to grow on James' face, as he knew exactly what she meant.

"Anyway, my parents and I decided that, and only if you wish, you could move out to California and work on our estate as well. That way, you and Kendall wouldn't have to worry about struggling for…basic provisions" James eloquently put it, hoping not to offend Jennifer in any way. A small smile grew on her face, before she spoke up again.

"Did Kendall put you up to this Sir?" she asked, causing James to shake his head.

"This is our own doing. Kendall just told me what was going on. He has no clue that I am with you" he replied, causing Jennifer to chuckle.

"So, it's going to be surprise for him? I suppose I can't say no to that. I accept sir" she replied, extending her hand out for a handshake. James took it, with the two of the smiling at each other as they did so. When they let go, James looked down at his watch, to see how much longer he had before the train departed.

"We have about 4 hours until the train departs. Will that be enough to persuade Katie, and have everything packed?" James asked as he stood up from his chair, grabbing the sausage roll as he did so.

"Plenty of time sir. Katie won't need much persuading, it's all she's talked about since Kendall has left"

"Perfect, so I'll meet you at the station in about four hours, and we'll begin our journey home" James replied, causing Jennifer to slightly grab his wrist as he went to stand up.

"I…Thank you for this opportunity sir. I'm not sure we could ever repay you" Jennifer said, as a blush spread onto her face.

"No need, seeing how happy it will make your son will be enough" James replied, before realising what he had said, and quickly adding. "And yourselves of course. I always like to help out where I can." With a smile from James, and a curtsy from Jennifer, the two of them parted ways, James heading back to the train station, his head running rampant with an image of how happy Kendall will be when the three of them return to Lakefield Estate.

As Jennifer said, Katie seemed to be ecstatic when the three of them finally boarded the train, luggage and all in hand and before long, they were on their journey back home.

* * *

The third day of James being away seemed to pass a little faster than the other two, and that could be due to his heightened energy levels. After playing cards with Carlos yesterday, the blond male was starting to realise that maybe James wasn't his only friend, and that he could rely on Carlos whenever he felt down. He'd worked through the day with Camille, a small skip in his step as he did, and when the two of them were close to finishing, Kendall made a similar request to the one he did the other day.

"Honestly, Camille, I'll finish up here" the blond said with a smile, causing Camille to chuckle.

"If I keep leaving you to do it all, then eventually you'll take my job" she replied, sticking her tongue out at the younger boy, before they both chuckled.

"But seriously, go relax" Kendall continued, his voice soft yet stern. Camille saw that she had no real choice in a matter, so with a sigh and a smile she accepted.

"I'll see you tomorrow Kendall" she said as she left the stable, causing Kendall to shoot her a wave. All the horses were in their pens already, so now it was just making sure that everything was sorted. While alone, Kendall took the opportunity to start reading out their names. Fable was the first horse, but since he already knew that, he got James' prized horse ready for bed quickly. Next was Henry's horse, and while getting the blanket ready, Kendall started to sound out the name.

"Bug Bug-si, Bug-see, Bugsy" Kendall said, finally figuring out what sound the y at the end of the word made. That was something he was still getting used to. This continue with most of the horses, with Kendall being able to spell about a few 'simple' names like Oscar and Belle, and some more complicated ones like Princess and Snowbell. The blond was completely in his own world and didn't hear the door open behind him. As Kendall started to sound out the word Peanut, he heard a small chuckle behind him, followed by a voice. His face reddened instantly as it began to talk.

"Can I ask what you're doing?" Camille said from behind the boy, her voice filled with curiosity and no condescension.

"Um, I'm er" Kendall began, causing Camille to cut him off.

"Just be honest with me Kendall, I don't care" she continued, causing Kendall to nod.

"I was trying to read the horses names." He began, before he felt the verbal diarrhoea begin. "James is teaching me how to read, and he said the best way to do it was to sound out the letters in the word until I could figure out how to say it, so when you left, I thought I could practise cause I haven't really done it a lot since he was away, and since the horses names are on the plaques, I thought it would be good" he continued, reddening further as he said it. He wasn't quite sure where all of this was coming from, but he certainly couldn't stop it.

Camille stayed quite while he spoke, and once he was finished, a small smile grew on her face. "That is so cute! Is that why he came to get you the other day?" She asked, not bothered at all that Kendall couldn't read. When Kendall just nodded, she squealed, before continuing. "And I'm guessing that why you were so sad when James left." She started, before raising her eyebrow as a smile smile formed on her face. "Cause you like spending time with him, don't you? You like that he's looking after you" She continued to push causing Kendall's face to redden further and further with every word she said. "You like him don't yo-mmmmm!" was her finally statement, but before she could completely finish it, Kendall placed his hand over her mouth, so no one else could hear it.

Of course, his face was covered with blush, causing Camille to squeal into Kendall's hand, not caring that she was muffled. When she started to lick Kendall's hand, the boy finally let go, now wiping his hand down on her shoulder.

"That is so adorable! I can't believe you like James! That's so cute, you're just so cute!" Camille began to ramble now, but Kendall was quick to put a stop to it.

"I can't like Mr Diamond" the boy replied, falling back into his previous depressive mood. Camille was quick to pick up on the fact that Kendall said 'can't' rather than 'don't' so she knew she was right.

"But why can't you?" she replied, causing Kendall to glare at the girl.

"Cause of the law! The laws says it!" Kendall replied, starting to get slightly mad. "So, it's against the law for me to like him, but I can't help these stupid feelings I'm having, and it's just so infuriated!" he yelled, Camille not be fazed one bit. Kendall sat down on the closest hay bale as he tried to stop the tears in his eyes from falling, while Camille sat down next to him.

"So fuck the law" she said, her voice completely calm. Kendall looked up at her, causing her to continue. "Who gives a shit if it's against the law, you can't help how you feel for someone. Besides, it's only illegal if you get caught" she finishes, with a small wink causing Kendall to chuckle as the first tear fell.

"But what if he doesn't like me back?" he replied, his voice small and full of nerves.

"God you are so innocent!" she began, as he put her arm around the smaller boy. "He so likes you back! I mean, he's constantly coming out here just so chat to you, and he's winked at you like twice and they're just the ones I've seen. Plus, he admitted it to the pair of us!" She squealed once again, causing Kendall to look at her when she said it.

"When?" he asked, causing her to chuckle.

"So innocent" she replied, causing him to blush at little more before she continued "When he agreed with me duh! He said 'You're so oblivious to it' right before he winked at you! That was so flirting, and I said at the time, and you didn't believe me, but it was!"

"But he said to me that he just wanted to be friends"

"When?" Camille said, causing Kendall to sigh as he began.

"The first night I was here. When you left, and I was bringing the horses in, I decided to ride Fable as I hadn't ridden a horse in a while, and he was here when I returned" Kendall began, causing Camille's eyes to widen massively. "After joking about being mad and saying that he could ride a horse better than me, the two of us went on a tour of the estate" he continued, causing Camille to continue to look at him in awe. "So, he took me around the estate, and we ended up at the lake. We ended up watching the sunset together, and I asked him what it was like to be rich, and he said it was lonely" Now Camille was looking at him with a dumbfounded expression. "So, I said that I could be his friend, and he said he'd like that and that was it"

"THAT WAS IT? You are even more innocent than I thought! You watched the sun go down together?"

"We also fed the fish together after I splashed him with water" he mumbled, causing Camille to stand up from the hay bale as she started to pace around the stable.

"Ok, so he one hundred percent likes you back Kendall! I'm telling you! I mean watching the sunset go down together is like the most cliché date thing ever!"

"But why me?" Kendall asked, completely shattering the enjoyment in the room. "Why would he like me. I mean, he's rich, attractive, and so kind and generous. Why would be want someone like me. A poor, stable hand who doesn't even know how to read or write"

"Well…" Camille began, trying to think the best way to word this. Eventually, she just gave up and went for it. "Kendall, there is no explaining love ok? It's not something you can control, it just happens. Besides, you may not be rich, or you may not know how to read, but you've got so many redeeming qualities. You're so nice, and polite, and you always offer stuff to everyone else first. You're so caring to others, I mean you keep letting me go early, just so I can relax. No one else has ever done that before. It also helps that you're attractive" Camille replied, causing Kendall to chuckle as he returned to her seat next to him. "Don't ever doubt yourself, and don't ever tell yourself that you are not worthy, because you are! You are worthy of whatever you want, despite your background or anything. My father always said 'deep down, you know what you want and you should go for it' so go for it!"

Kendall didn't even hesitate this time, as he pulled Camille into a tight hug. "Thank you" he mumbled into her, as she began to wrap her arms around the small boy. "Thank you for believing in me, and not freaking out about me being gay" he continued, causing her to chuckle.

"Don't worry about it. You're a great guy Kendall, and that's not gonna change just cause you like guys" she replied, as she began to stroke his back. "Come on, let's finish up the rest of the horses, shall we? And I'll help if you get stuck on any of their names" she continued, causing Kendall to nod. Suddenly he was back into his positive mood, having a new outlook on his life.

Like Camille had said, screw the law. Kendall really liked James, and if Camille was telling the truth, James liked him back. So why shouldn't they be allowed to be together? Kendall was still sceptical about the whole thing but knowing that someone had his back was making him feel a lot better.

He was starting to consider that he may have made more friends that he'd originally thought, and that warmed his heart.

* * *

 **So there we are! We started off with Kendall being in a depressive mood, but Carlos was quick to try and help him out of that. We then had a brief snippet of James with Jennifer and she agreed to come back to California with him, as well as Katie. But the main thing this time was the Kendall/Camille talk, with everything finally coming out into open! Camille, of course, was supportive of everything and even encouraged Kendall to go for it, so I wonder what will happen?**

 **A massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11 and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter and I'm so glad you enjoyed it! You enjoyed the reading lesson, which I was super happy about because that was a lot of fun for me to write, but I also wanted to get a bit of Kendall's story in there for James. Of course, you were all so happy when James decided to go and grab Katie and Jennifer. Some of you were also very sceptical about how I ended the last chapter... well, you'll have to wait and see for that...**

 **I will see you guys on Thursday for the next chapter of Love, James, a story which you all really seemed to enjoy so thank you for that! But until then,**

 **TTFN :D**


	11. Chapter 11: Angle

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character. So, this is quite a big chapter in this story so I won't keep you!**

* * *

James sighed with content as he stared out the window, the train about half an hour away from Oakland station. He was imagining the look on Kendall's face when he arrived with Katie and Jennifer, and the thought alone made him smile. He could see Kendall with a huge smile on his face, as his green eyes glistened with a few unshed tears due to his happiness.

He was snapped out of his thought process when he saw Katie emerge from her room and take the seat opposite him. James couldn't help but think that Katie had been slightly strange while on this trip. Jennifer said that the young girl would be ecstatic for the move to California, but other than a curtsy, the small girl had hardly said anything to James, often staying in her room for most of the trip, so when she sat opposite him, James was slightly on edge. When Katie spoke, that made it so much worse.

"So, what's your angle?" the brunette girl asked, her eyes piercing into James' as they maintained awkward eye contact.

"Excuse me?" James asked due to the shock of the question.

"What's your angle? Why bring Mum and I out to California?" she continued, her eyes narrowing on James even further. The brunet male started to feel really uncomfortable, if not slightly intimidated. It was clear this girl did not care about offending James whatsoever.

"Like I said, Kendall was worried about the two of you, and as his boss, I thought it would be right to help him out." James replied, trying to think of the best way to word this.

"So, it's for Kendall?" Katie continued, causing James to nod.

"Yes." James replied, causing Katie to nod, mimicking James' action. The two went silent for a minute, before the rigorous question began again.

"So, why are you doing this for him?" she began, causing James to fluster. Obviously, he couldn't answer truthfully, so instead he used a line his father always told him.

"Like my father always says, when a worker is happy they are more productive at what they do?" he replied, but by the end of the sentence, it sounded more like a question, almost as if he was hoping for Katie's approval of the response. Never had James been so fearful.

"So, what your saying is" Katie began, shifting in her seat slightly. "Is that my brother is just another way to earn money for the estate" Oh shit, this did not go the way James wanted. "And that the only reason you are doing this, is to ensure that he makes you the most money possible." Katie's voice throughout that entire thing stayed completely calm and level, only adding to James anxiety. Of course, as soon as she had finished, James jumped into his justification.

"No! That's not what I meant at all…"

"That's what you said"

"But it came out entirely wrong, I didn't mean that"

"So what did you mean? And more importantly, why are you hiding it from me?" Katie replied, causing James to fluster further.

"I'm not hiding anything" James replied, causing Katie to snort slightly as she laughed.

"Firstly, you've been unable to maintain proper eye contact with me. I stare at you, you stare back, then look away. Secondly, you've been playing with your sleeve the entire time, almost like a nervous habit, and three, your voice has been getting higher every time you speak" Katie stated, as she counted the numbers on her hands, only to make James more intimidated, which was working. The two of them stared at each other for a while, neither of them saying anything. It was clear that Katie had the upper hand here, so there was no way James was getting out of it. Carefully constructing what he was going to say, James began.

"I care for your brother ok? He's young, and obviously quite inexperienced, so I want his to have a good life with us" James replied, his tone soft and caring. Katie nodded at James, obviously agreeing, before she began as well.

"I think there is more to it than that" she replied, her tone matching James' "By taking him out to California, you've already does those things, so why are you going that extra step?" she continued, still staring at James, yet it was softer and less intense.

"Because" James began, thinking if he really wanted to admit it. Of course, he didn't need to, because Katie finished the sentence for him.

"Because you like him in a romantic way" she replied, causing James to nod.

"He's just perfect" James began, a small smile settling on his face. He had no clue where this was coming from now and couldn't stop the words from emerging. "He's so sweet and innocent, he's always looking out for everyone else before himself, and I think I might be falling in love with him"

"So, you brought us out here, so he would love you back? Almost like a bargaining chip?"

"What no! I brought you out here, because I want to make him happy, and I'd do anything to see that. It doesn't matter if he loves me back or not, just seeing him happy is enough."

"And that's all I wanted to know" Katie replied, a small smile now settling on her face. "Just from the way you speak about him, it's clear you like him, and if I know my brother well and you've treated him like this, I think it's safe to say he is falling for you as well. Whether or not that was your intention, it's happened anyway"

"How old are you?" James asked, as he wiped a few tears that had welled up in his eyes.

"12" Katie responded as she shrugged her shoulders, causing James to chuckle.

"You know, no one else has managed to figure any of this out. Even my parents when I asked if I could bring you here. Yet, a 12 year old has managed to outsmart me" James chuckle, as he began to shake his head. "You're something else, you know that right"

"I've been told that quite a few times. Especially when I outsmart my boss" Katie continued, causing James to chuckle once more.

"I think I'm starting to like you. You know, now that you're not putting pressure on me" James replied, causing Katie to smile briefly, before her facial expression turned to stone.

"Cute. But if you ever hurt my brother, I swear I'll kill you myself" the brunette girl replied, causing James' face to pale. With a sarcastically sweet smile, Katie stood up from the sofa and made her way back to her room, leaving James petrified for his life.

He had no doubts that Katie would go through with it.

* * *

Kendall was hard at work when James' car finally pulled up at the estate, so he wasn't even the person to notice it. He was cleaning out Snowbell's pen when Camille came running up to him.

"Kendall! Kendall, he's back!" She squealed as she grabbed the blond's hand and dragged him out of the main stable, onto the drive of the estate. When James stepped out of the car, Kendall's face light up with a smile especially when James made eye contact with him and smiled back. James gestured for Kendall to come closer, causing Kendall to blush slightly as he began to walk. That walk turned into a sprint as he saw a familiar brunette and red haired woman emerge from the car.

"Mum? Katie?" Kendall asked, tears welling in his eyes as he finally reached then, pulling them both into a tight hug.

"Hey sweetie" Jennifer said, kissing Kendall on the top of the head as she did so. Kendall was crying into his mother's shoulder at this point, with Katie squeezing her way out of the hug.

"But, how…" Kendall cried into his mother's shoulder, the whole thing seeming so unreal.

"James brought us. He said that you were worried about us, so he offered Katie and I a job so you wouldn't have to worry" Jennifer replied, as she kissed Kendall on the head once again. Kendall finally pulled out of the hug, a huge smile on his face despite the fact that his eyes were red and puffy, before turning to see James stood there with a small smile of his own.

"You did this?" Kendall asked once again, causing James to blush as he nodded.

"Well yeah, you were so upset when you spoke about it, so I thought I would help" James replied, causing Kendall to wrap his arms around the older male, as the tears began to fall again.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Kendall sobbed into James' blazer, as James returned the hug, pulling Kendall tighter into him. Katie raised an eyebrow at the action and looked over to see another dark-haired girl doing the same thing. They both made eye contact with each other, knowing exactly what the other was thinking as they smirked. James and Kendall remained in the hug for a couple of minutes, before James decided to speak up.

"I suppose we should get the two of you settled in" he spoke up, causing Kendall to pull out of the hug first, before giving his mother another one.

"I'll see you later ok Mum. After work I'll come and find you, and we can catch up" Kendall said, causing Jennifer to nod onto Kendall's shoulder.

"Ok, I'll see you later sweetie. And don't worry about us anymore, we are here now" she replied, kissing him on the forehead once more. Kendall blushed when he realised James was watching, despite the fact that he'd watched the entire time, and gave him another quick hug.

"Thank you" Kendall muttered once again, before pulling away and walking backwards over to the stables. Jennifer gave him another quick wave before he saw the three of them emerge into the house. A smile settled onto his face, and when he turned back to see Camille, she was stood there with her eyebrow raised, arms crossed, and a smug smile on her face. "What?" Kendall asked, having some slight idea of where this was going.

"He so likes you back! He brought your family half way across the country just so you would be happy!" Camille replied, before turning back into the stable sing "I was right! I was right!" on repeat, which Kendall couldn't help but chuckle at.

Maybe she was right after all, and thinking back to the other day, maybe he should just go for it.

* * *

Camille could see how antsy Kendall was getting as the day went on. Although all of his jobs were fulfilled to a high standard, Camille could see that he was trying to rush through them, and most importantly, she couldn't blame him. After all, it was his family. So, when the clock struck 7, Camille finally spoke up about it.

"Kendall, why don't you head off" she said, causing the boy's head to poke up from one of the pens.

"Are you sure? I can help you finish I don't mind" Kendall replied, but Camille knew it was an empty gesture, and that he really wanted to leave.

"Honestly, there are only a few more bits to do anyway. Now, go see your family" Camille replied with a chuckle. The speed Kendall shot up at was immense, and after pulling her into a quick hug, the blond was headed back to the house, a huge smile on his face as he did so. The whole walk back, Kendall still couldn't believe that James had brought his family out here, and he was so grateful for that he felt he should try to do something in return. When he walked into the servants area of the house, he saw his mother pottering about the Kitchen with Carlos as Katie was sat at the table reading through the contract all employees had to sign.

"So Kendall's settling in alright here?" Jennifer said as she stirred one of the pots on the hob.

"Very well, everyone seems to like him, and he's so helpful" Carlos replied, causing Katie to look up at Kendall with an eyebrow raised. It was clear she had noticed his presence when no one else had. Trying to stay as silent as possible, Kendall took a seat at the table, while Carlos and his mother continued to talk.

"I'm so glad. That was one of my biggest worries about him moving out here. I didn't want him to be all alone."

"Trust me Ms Knight, he's got plenty of friends, like myself, Camille, Lucy and even Mr Diamond. Plus it's common knowledge that Peggy and Jenny have a crush on him. Well, common to everyone else. I didn't think Kendall has noticed yet" Carlos continued, causing Kendall to fluster silently. Turns out Camille was right about that as well.

"Bless him, I bet he even tried to talk to them, and he was oblivious when they flirted back. That's Kendall alright" Jennifer replied, causing Carlos to chuckle along with her. Knowing their idol chatter had gone on long enough, Katie decided to be the one to clear her throat, while Kendall just sat there with his arms crossed over his chest, as he tried to put on a pout, showing how 'upset' he was. When Jennifer and Carlos turned around, their eyes widened as they landed on the blond, sharing a look of horror.

"Kendall sweetie" Jennifer began, trying to hide her shock. "How, how long have you been here for?" she asked, even though she knew the answer to the question already.

"Along enough to hear you call me oblivious" Kendall replied, causing Jennifer to quickly make her way over to her son in an attempt to make it up to him. "I'm totally not oblivious by the way, I knew about their crushes!" He continued, until he heard a voice shout back.

"LIAR!" radiated through the halls, followed by Camille. "When I told you about it at first, you denied it" she continued, as she grabbed a glass and made her way over to the tab.

"How…but…what…aren't you supposed to be working" Kendall replied in a huff, causing both Katie and Carlos to snicker slightly at how much the young blond was acting like a child.

"I got thirsty" Camille replied with a shrug, only making Kendall slightly more agitated.

"Can we not talk about this anymore?" Kendall asked, causing the group to nod, as one final voice joined them.

"What? Peggy and Jenny's crush on Kendall?" Lucy asked, slightly overhearing the conversation. "It's so obvious dude" she continued, causing Kendall to pout while everyone else chuckled.

Before long, Camille had left the room to finish up with the horses, Lucy had gone back to her office and Carlos had to deliver some food to Brooke, leaving the Knight's in the kitchen to catch up. Kendall was telling Jennifer all about his life here, what he did during the day, and how much he loved it, and in turn Jennifer and Katie shared a few stories they had since Kendall had left. Really, they had only been separated for about a week, so there wasn't too much new information to chat about. Jennifer shared that she'd become a cook, helping Carlos out in the kitchen due to her experience at the bakery, while Katie had been recommended to Lucy as an assistant, after James thought it was best. That was basically James' way of saying that Katie was too smart to be put anywhere else in the house, which Katie was quick to agree with.

Other than that, Kendall told them about how James was teaching him how to read and write, causing Katie to chuckle under her breath. She could see what James was doing, and by the way Kendall spoke about him, it was clear that Kendall liked him back. Before long, everyone came in to eat dinner, getting the know the two new arrivals, and of course Jennifer was willing to share most things with them, including many embarrassing stories she had of Kendall, the first being the first time Kendall had ever seen a horse. Jennifer told them how Kendall was quickly scared by the big animal, and how a tear slid down his face as he stroked one, causing everyone to chuckle, while Kendall still pouted and blushed due to his embarrassment. He knew he wasn't going to live this down for a long time.

The evening quickly passed, with stories being told, and before it got any later everyone said their goodbyes and trotted off back to their rooms. Kendall helped Carlos wash the plates, with the two of them returning to their room at the same time. Still, Kendall couldn't stop thinking about what James had done for him, and most of all, what Camille said it represented.

Did James do this because he cared for the young boy?

Was he feeling the same way Kendall was?

These were the thoughts that kept Kendall stirring all night, and before long the blond found himself getting out of bed and heading back into the dinning area. The blond really wanted to meet up with James, but he knew he couldn't risk walking upstairs as the rules about that had been drilled into him. Instead he found himself searching for James' name on the wall of bells, luckily James being one of the words he'd first learnt to read, and when Kendall found it, he started to ring it slightly, hoping the signal went both ways. If the bell could be rung in the rooms and heard here, then surely the same would work the other way, right?

After ringing the bell for a short while, Kendall sat himself at the table, hoping James would turn up and soon.

* * *

 **So there we have it! Katie drilled James about his intentions and with her being so sneaky and smart, of course she figured it out, with James actually confessing everything at the end. We had the family reunion, with Kendall crying as he saw his mother and his sister, as well as pulling James into a tight hug, which was quickly returned. And then, I finished off the chapter with a little bit of light banter between everyone as well as a set up for the next chapter!**

 **A massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11 and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and without sounding too mean, I want to give RainbowDiamonds another thank you as it has been fun to mess with you for the past two weeks, and get you all on edge :P Truly, that is evil muhahaha. *Hums Evil Like Me***

 **But yes, as you can see, Kendall was super surprised by James bringing his family here, and you all seemed to love the chat between Kendall and Camille, which I had to admit, I really enjoyed as well. I will admit I enjoyed the chat between Katie and James more, just because it was almost like a role reversal with Katie being the one holding all the power!**

 **I will see you guys on Thursday for the next chapter of Love, James and at the moment, I will admit that I am loving uploading that story for you all, and I can see how much you are enjoying it! But until then,**

 **TTFN :D**


	12. Chapter 12: Signals

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! This is a big chapter, so I won't keep you too long!**

* * *

Funnily enough, James hadn't been able to get any sleep that night either. After he showed Jennifer and Katie around, assigning them both their jobs and their room, James had returned to his study where he began to catch up on some of the university work that he missed. When he'd turned in for bed that night, he couldn't help but think about Kendall, and the joy on his face when he saw his mother and sister step out of the car. James had been glad that he brought the family together, and what made it so much better in his book were the hugs that James had received from it. Of course, he wasn't expecting anything from Kendall, yet that simple show of affection was all his mind kept replaying, and every time it did, he couldn't help the smile that grew on his face.

A few moments passed before James could hear a light ringing coming from somewhere within the room. He pulled himself out of his bed and got dressed when he noticed that it was the bell that was hooked up to the one's in the servant's area at the back of the house. A small smile grew on his face when he knew who it was that was calling him. He recalled the conversation he'd had with Kendall, when the blond was moving in, with him saying that he hardly ever used the bell, so he figured Kendall knew to ring it if he wanted James' attention. He also recalled the conversation in which he had said that he'd talk to Kendall whenever he needed it, and a quick glance at the clock showed James it was 30 minutes past midnight, and he knew that no one else would dare call him at this time.

As quietly as he could, James walked through the house and down the stairs onto the ground floor. Luckily, he'd got the house memorised so he could navigate without having to turn on any of the lights. As he made his way to the back of the house, James noticed a dim light glowing through the bottom of the door, and James chuckled, knowing that Kendall still hadn't figured his way around. When James opened the door, he was greeted by the blond, who was sat at the table with his hands clasped in front of him. As soon as he heard the door open, Kendall's head shot up, and a small smile grew on his face when he saw it was James.

"Hey" was all Kendall could think to say, a blush already settling onto his face.

"Hey, I got your signal" James returned, causing Kendall to chuckle.

"Yeah, I was wondering if we could talk, and you did say anytime" Kendall replied, as James took the seat opposite from Kendall.

"And I meant it" James replied, causing the blush on Kendall's face to deepen. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"We could maybe go somewhere else? I don't want to wake anyone up" Kendall replied, quickly diverting the topic. All of the courage he'd built up was suddenly gone.

"Sure" James replied with a smile as he stood up from the table. Knowing exactly where he wanted to take Kendall, James led the two of the out of the back door, where he glanced down to see if Kendall was wearing any foot wear. Luckily Kendall has a pair of slippers on, similar to James, so James wasn't worried about Kendall hurting himself. The two of them started to walk towards Brooke's orchard when James spoke up again. "So, what did you want to chat about?" he asked again, as he began to walk slightly closer to Kendall.

"I um, I just wanted to say thank you" Kendall replied, shivering slightly before continuing his sentence. "You know, for everything"

"Kendall, you don't need to thank me, I said this before" James replied, looking over at the blond. He noticed how Kendall has his arms crossed his body as he shivered slightly. Luckily James had grabbed his dressing gown before he left his room. James stopped the two of them, so they were face to face. "Here" James said, pulling the dressing gown off of himself and wrapping around Kendall, pulling the blond boy slightly closer.

"James, you didn't have to" Kendall replied, causing James to shake his head.

"No, you looked cold and I thought you'd need it…" was as far as James got before he felt another pair of lips against his. He froze, completely in shock as the blond continued for a little while longer. It wasn't until Kendall noticed that James wasn't moving back that he pulled away, his body temperature rising from embarrassment, and he began to fluster instantly. Kendall noticed how James moved his own finger up to his lip as Kendall began to speak.

"James, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me, I can't, I'm just…" was as far as Kendall got before James silenced him with a kiss back. Kendall was thrown into shock as well, but after a brief second the blond melted into the kiss, wrapping his arms around James' neck to try and pull the older male closer. James in turn wrapped his arms around Kendall's waist, as Kendall let James dominate the kiss. He felt James tongue run itself again his bottom lip, causing Kendall to let out a soft moan. James quickly took the opportunity, his tongue diving into the blond mouth and exploring everything it had to offer, something that Kendall never tried to stop. Instead he kept moaning, with James swallowing the noise, as they both tried to pull each other even closer, wanting as much physical contact as they could get.

They remained like this until the need for oxygen became too great with Kendall being the first to pull away. James didn't let the blond get too far, smiling as James rested his foreheads onto Kendall's. The blond was completely red with blush, causing James to chuckle. "I'm going to guess you don't mind me say that you're cute when you blush" James said, causing Kendall to redden even further it was possible. The two of them settled into a silence for a second, before Kendall spoke up again.

"Was I any good?" he asked, his voice small, causing James to nod against him.

"You were brilliant, amazing, spectacular! I could go on"

"I'll have to take your word for it. That was my first kiss" Kendall replied, his blush furthering.

"Would you be opposed to a second?" James asked, his signature smirk returning to his face. Of course, Kendall just blushed even more as he shook his head, and before long, the two of them were making out again, with no cares at all in that moment.

* * *

It was when the two of them started to walk that conversation sparked up again. As they headed through the orchards, James was the first to speak. "So, I think it's safe to say that I like you" he said, causing Kendall to chuckle.

"I feel the same" Kendall replied, as he snuggled into James' chest as he walked. James had the arm around Kendall's waist, with the two of them once again wanting as much contact as possible.

"So, if I asked you on a date, then you'd say yes?" James asked, and he felt Kendall tense in his arms slightly. When James looked down at the younger boy, he saw Kendall was trying to avoid eye contact. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, tilting Kendall's head up so they were making eye contact and kissing him on the forehead. "

It's… should we be doing this? I mean, I really like you James, like really really like you, but this" Kendall said, moving his finger between the two of them "Is against the law. And if we got catch, then it would be my fault, and we'd probably be thrown in jail, and I don't want that for you James, I don't want you to be thrown in jail over me" the blond continued, as James just stared into his eyes. When Kendall finished, James didn't hesitate to pull him into another kiss, one that Kendall was quick to return.

"See, that's what I like about you Kendall, you always put everyone else first." James said, causing the blond to blush. "But that being said. This time just think about what you want Kendall. Yes, we could be thrown into prison, but don't you think this is worth the risk? I really like you as well Kendall, and I want this to work. Besides, what is hotter than a forbidden romance?" James asked, chuckling as he did so. Kendall just looked up into the brunet's eyes, and James could see the love and trust in them. "So, what do you say Kendall? Will do do this with me?" James asked one final time.

"Yes" Kendall whispered against James' lips before the two of them began another passionate kiss, solidifying the relationship they were in. When they pulled apart, Jams grabbed Kendall's hand, as the two of them continued to walk, as they chatted idly with each other. "Tell me about you James, I want to know about you" Kendall asked, realising that most of the conversations they have had was focused on him.

"What do you want to know" James ask, as he turned to the blonde, the two of them swinging their interlinked hands as they walked.

"I don't know, anything. What were you like growing up. I told you about my childhood, what was yours like" Kendall replied, looking over at the brunet. James contemplated his words before he began.

"I suppose I had a pretty lucky childhood. Umm, I've lived in this house my entire life, but if I ever wanted to go anywhere, all I had to do was ask. I had a nanny, so she would look after me when I wasn't at school, and I basically spent all of my time with her" He began, turning to see Kendall looking over at him. One of the things James loved the most about Kendall was that he never sensed any jealously when he told the blond about his life. Kendall never seemed to be jealous about what James had, and showed actual intrigue in what the brunet was saying.

"Um, from a young age, my parents taught me how to play the piano, since they had learnt when they were young, and wanted the skill to continue. I also spent some time riding horses, and that's why I got Fable. But that's it really. My childhood was a lot of school, piano, riding horses and parties that my mum and dad were invited too. That's how I met Logan" James continued, glancing back to Kendall who was still listening. Kendall gave James' hand a squeeze to indicate he should continue.

"Mum and Dad were holding a party at the house, and they invited all of the other families around here, including the children. Of course, not many kids actually showed up, but Logan was one of them. The Mitchell's own a ranch nearby, and while our parents got to know each other, Logan and I snuck off just to chat. Since then, we've been real close friends. Well, he's more like a brother to be now. He knows most of my secrets, including me being gay, and he was never bothered by it" James finished, causing Kendall to nod, seeing the smile that had formed on James' face.

The chatter between the two continued, with then sharing small bits of information with each other. Kendall recalled that James said something about a university lecturer a while ago, and asked James what he was studying, which turned out to be Literature. James explained that his mum used to read to him before he went to bed, and since a young age he started to read novels, so as he got older he wanted to study them further. When James spoke about his mother, that was the one time that Kendall's smile faltered. It wasn't due to the fact that he didn't have that in his childhood, instead the exact opposite, as when Kendall was younger, his father used to do the same thing for him.

A series of memories came rushing back to causing Kendall to tear up slightly as they walked. James was quick to notice that Kendall was no longer engaging in the conversation, and when he glanced at the younger male, he could see that Kendall was trying his hardest not to cry. Stopping the two of them, who were now down by the summer house, James quickly pulled Kendall into a hug.

"Hey, what's up?" James asked, his voice soft and caring. He placed a chaste kiss onto Kendall's forehead, both because he loved that he could, and because he was hoping that it would help Kendall in some way. Kendall was quick to snuggle into James' chest as he began to speak.

"It's just…when you mentioned your mother reading to you, I remembered by dad doing the same when I was younger as well." Kendall replied, a small smile growing on his face as he spoke.

"Why don't you tell me about him" James asked, as he began to lead the two of them towards the Summer house. James grabbed one of the spare keys from underneath the mat out front, before the two of them settled onto the couch together. Both of them were laid down, with Kendall's head laid on James' chest.

"I don't really remember a lot" Kendall said, as tears continued to stroll down his face. He wasn't sobbing anymore, but instead was greeted with a few tears as he thought of his father. "He'd always help mum around the house when he could, and spent time with me when he was free, even if it was just walking through the town together. He had an old guitar, and he used to teach me to play it. I remember him singing to me sometimes as well, but he worked quite a lot so the time we spent together was special. When he died, at first, I thought he was just going to be gone for a while, but then he never came back" James held Kendall tighter as he spoke, not once interrupting him.

"He sounds like a great man" James replied, causing Kendall to nod.

"He was" Kendall replied with, feeling James' hand drawing small circles on the back his neck. Kendall eye's started to feel heavy, and before long, he let sleep overcome him, James doing the same a few moments later.

* * *

It was James who woke up first that morning, and when he did, he saw that Kendall's head was still laid against his chest. He gave a small smile, noticing how cute he looked, before his brain finally clicked into full gear again. Panic settled across his face, and when James checked his watch it read nine am.

"Shit" James said quickly, slowly rocking Kendall in the hopes that the boy was a light sleeper. Kendall stirred quite quickly, and when he looked up he gave James a small smile before the severity of the situation dawned on him as well.

"Shit" Kendall repeated, as he jumped off of the sofa they were settled on. "What…What time is it?" he asked, his voice also filled with panic.

"Nine"

"Nine? Oh god, I'm late for work, and Camille is going to kill me!" Kendall began, as he started pacing. "And Carlos would have noticed I'm gone. Oh god, this is all my fault! I knew something like this would happened and…"

James slammed his lips against Kendall's and he felt the blond relax into it. James could see how much Kendall was panicking, and he was glad to see that this tactic worked on the young boy. When James pulled out, he rested his forehead against Kendall's as he began to speak.

"Kendall, everything will be ok, I promise. We'll just tell everyone that we were having an early morning reading session. We can sneak back into the house, and you can quickly get changed before work. That way, it will look like you got up early ok?" James said, with Kendall nodding along with him.

"Ok, alright" Kendall replied, placing a final kiss onto James' lips before they left the Summer House, hoping no one saw them together. As the two of them walked up to the house, they tried to keep their distance from each other in order to avoid suspicion. Well, at least the two of them believed that's what they were doing, whereas in actuality, they were definitely walking close together, so close that their hands would brush together every now and again as they walked.

James took Kendall through the back door of the house, and they were lucky enough for no one to be there. They could hear a couple of voice from the kitchen, Carlos and Jennifer's, so the two of them stayed silent as Kendall snuck back into his room. James hid himself while Kendall got changed, and before long, the two of them were approaching the stable. Both James and Kendall could hear Kendall's stomach rumbling and that enough of a cause for James to stop them both again.

"Kendall, grab something to eat before you start work, I can hear how hungry you are" James said, as he grabbed Kendall's upper arm.

"I'm fine James… I mean sir" Kendall hesitated, hoping no one was around to hear his blunder. "I'll just wait until lunch and eat then. I don't want to be any later" Kendall insisted, but James shook his head.

"Ridiculous. After everything you've told me, and you're going to skip a meal? Come on, let's grab some food before you start" James urged, but Kendall shook is head. "Fine. I'll have Carlos deliver some food to you instead" James replied, and before Kendall could say anything back, he walked briskly to the stables. By the time Kendall had caught up to him, Camille had joined them.

"I'm sorry Kendall is late Camille, the two of us were having a reading lesson and we lost track of time" James said to her, causing him to nod quickly.

"It's fine sir, I was doing this by myself for years, I can handle Kendall being late for one day" She replied, before turning to Kendall and raising her eyebrow. The blond blushed, causing a small smirk to grow on her face, before James continue.

"Very well. I'll let you to get back to work, and I'll make sure Carlos brings out some food for the pair of you" James responded, causing the two of them to bow as James walked away.

* * *

 **So there we have it, Kames finally happened! It was a long time coming, but I felt like this was the perfect moment for them to finally get together, so let me know what you think!**

 **A massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11 and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm glad you all enjoyed the reunion between Kendall and his family. You also really loved Katie grilling James, which I also loved as I felt like it was just Katie through and through. She doesn't care, she just wants to look out for her family.**

 **I will see you guys on Thursday for the next chapter of Love, James but until then,**

 **TTFN :D**


	13. Chapter 13: Dreams

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So last we left off, Kames happened, and now we have the conclusion of such! Enjoy!**

* * *

As soon as James was out of sight, Kendall ran to one of the pens at the back of the stable, hoping to avoid Camille's onslaught of questions and just get to work. The boy was quick to start mucking out the stable, but that didn't stop Camille. "Early morning session huh?" she asked, leaning about the door of the pen.

"Yeah" Kendall replied, hoping not to further the conversation.

"If that's so, then why is James wearing the same clothes as yesterday?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at the blond. Not that Kendall looked however, as he was too busy trying to hide his blush.

"I don't know. Didn't ask" he replied, trying to sound disinterested. "He's the boss, I don't question him"

"Very well" Camille began, as she began to turn away. "But I do have my own theory. I think you and James spent the night together in the summer house, and only woke up a little while ago" She replied, causing Kendall's blush to grow as he spun around to face the girl, not being very subtle.

"How'd you?"

"My room faces towards the lake, and I saw the two of you headed down there late last night. Plus, you're not the quietest at shutting doors" Camille said with a grin, knowing she was right about Kendall and James.

"You can't tell a soul!"

"Tell a soul what?" The two of them heard Carlos say, as he held a tray of food. Kendall was about to reply but Camille spoke first.

"Kendall and James slept in the summer house last night" she said, causing Carlos to quickly place the tray down so he didn't drop it in shock.

"Really Camille?" Kendall asked, his anger growing slightly.

"Shit" Carlos said, rubbing his forehead. "I owe you ten bucks" he continued, causing Camille's grin to grow further, while Kendall stood there looking between the two. Finally, his brain caught up with him, and he found his words. He turned to Carlos first.

"So, you knew?" he asked, causing Carlos to nod.

"Well, to some extent." Carlos began, causing Kendall to cock his head to the side slightly. "When you first joined, I may have mentioned to Camille about how cute you were and the two of us got talking. As time went on, Camille mentioned how James was flirting with you, so the two of us made a bet." Carlos shrugged, as Camille nodded.

"So are you?" Kendall asked, causing Carlos to nod.

"Gay? Yeah. Although I don't go around telling everyone since it's you know, illegal" Carlos shrugged, before Camille spoke up.

"Enough about Carlos, I'm dying to know what happened!" She squealed, grabbing a slice of toast from the tray Carlos had delivered. Kendall was sceptical about this, as he didn't want anything bad to come of it. But when he thought about it, Camille and Carlos had been good to him since he had moved here. The two of them were always looking out for him, so he felt like he could trust them.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone ok? No one can know about this, James can't even know you know" Kendall replied, causing the two of them to nod.

"Cross our hearts and hope to die" Camille added, showing she was serious about this. Kendall grabbed another bit of food off of the tray, before speaking up again.

"And I want to know something comprising about you two. You know, so it's a fair trade" he added, causing Camille to chuckle as she shook her head.

"What is this, blackmail?" Carlos asked, slightly teasing Kendall as the smaller male nodded. "Ok, um, so I may have a small crush on Logan" Carlos confessed, causing Camille to aww slightly. "Shut up, you already knew that" Carlos said, gently slapping her on the arm as a joke. Kendall then turned to Camille, causing her to confess her secret.

"I may also have a small crush on Dak." Camille said, causing Kendall to nod. He was starting to feel safer in the company of the other two, knowing that they also had secrets that would doom them if they were spread. "Your turn" Camille said, redirecting the attention back to Kendall.

The blond blushed, before telling them everything that happened, from him kissing James, to the two of them talking about Kendall's father. Camille and Carlos stayed silent throughout the whole thing, but Kendall could see that Camille was trying not to combust from cuteness. "So, that's why he's wearing the same clothes" Kendall finished, causing Camille to chuckle slightly.

"He cares about you so much. You know he asked me to make you a full breakfast at first before saying only a few bits" Carlos replied, causing Kendall to blush at Carlos' comment.

"Well, Mercedes won't be happy about this" Camille added, causing Kendall to tilt his head at the unfamiliar name.

"Mercedes?" he asked, causing both Carlos and Camille to nod.

"The She-Devil" Carlos replied, as Camille imitated horns coming out the side of her head. "She's dead set on becoming James' wife, despite how many times he's said no."

"And her father, Arthur Griffin, is one of Mr Diamond's business partners, so he uses that excuse to bring her round" Camille added, causing Kendall to nod.

"I'll keep an eye out for her" Kendall replied, causing the two of them to scoff slightly.

"You'll know when they are here. The whole estate goes on high alert. Her father runs the trading branches on the East Coast, so everything has to be perfect so their business deal continues. It's as important for Mr Diamond as it is for Mr Griffin." Camille replied, causing Kendall to nod once again. The three of them separated after that, with them all returning to work, leaving Kendall mostly alone with his thoughts as the radio played throughout the stable.

He couldn't stop thinking about this Mercedes character and the things said about her. It was clear that she was some sort of competition, and Kendall couldn't help but feel jealous of that. Yet, he probably had no reason to. Carlos and Camille had said that James had rejected her every time, so if he were truly interested, then surely, he would have gone for her by now. There was also the fact that James was, you know, gay and seeing Kendall but that didn't stop the jealously from existing.

The blond just sighed, as he thought about how his life had just gotten both better and a lot more complex.

* * *

It was a few days later that James and Kendall had an 'official' date. James would come to check up on Kendall every morning at work, which he thought was sweet and they would also have some reading lessons in the afternoon, which was usually Kendall reading a word, and James kissing him if he got it right. The only issue was that James didn't want people to get suspicious about the about of time he was spending with Kendall. Sure, James had strong feelings for the young boy, and while he did want to spend every waking minute with him, James knew that would easily draw attention to the two of them. Their reading sessions were usually limited to an hour maximum, and when James came to check up on Kendall, he always had another agenda as a cover, whether it be to inform Camille of something, or tell the two of them which horses would be in use that day.

However, today during their reading, and making out, session, James told Kendall to meet him at the back of the house at around 10 o'clock. James had sure to show Kendall what that looked like on a clock, so the boy knew what time he was expected. So, when the time approached, Kendall slowly got out of bed, making sure not to wake Carlos in the process. After Camille said that he didn't shut doors very quietly, Kendall made sure to prove her wrong, trying not to slam the doors as he left. When he got out the back, he saw James stood there with a bright smile on his face.

"Hey beautiful" James grinned, causing Kendall to blush massively, something James noticed even though it was dark out. James quickly grabbed Kendall's hand, and began to pull him around the side of the house, where Kendall began to look in a few of the windows, making sure that Camille wasn't staring this time. Kendall didn't spot her and continued to allow James to lead him away.

"So, what's going on?" Kendall asked, his voice hushed to make sure he didn't wake anyone up.

"It's a surprise" James replied, with a little giggle causing Kendall to blush as they made eye contact. When James said nothing more, Kendall just shook his head with a smile on his face. It wasn't until the two of the reached an unfamiliar building to Kendall that he started to get a bit more suspicious. He'd expected James to lead him back down to the lake and the summer house, much like their previous encounters, but this was completely new to him. James let go of his hand, and began to rummage around in his pockets, until he found what he was looking for.

"There we are" James said as he pulled out a set of keys and began to fiddle with the lock on the door, testing each key until he found the right one.

"Where is this?" Kendall asked, causing James to just smile at him as he finally found the right key.

"Patience" James replied, as he allowed Kendall to walk into the darkened building first. Kendall just shuffled forward a little bit as he walked in, unable to see anything in the room until James flicked the light switch, blinding the blond for a second. Kendall was quick to cover his eyes until there were used to the illumination, and when he pulled his arm away, he was greeted with a bunch of cars that the estate owned. Kendall was in awe, much like he usually was, when looking at them and how clean they all looked. Dak clearly took pride in his work. Kendall turned around to see James looking through a bunch of keys on a hook and noticed how James' face light up when he found the right one.

"A-ha" he said, pulling it off the rack and walking back over to Kendall. "You ready?" James asked, leading Kendall over to the one the cars and opening the door for him. Kendall blushed as he thanked James and began to speak.

"Now will you tell me what's going on?" Kendall asked, causing James to shake his head as he got in the driver's side of the car.

"I told you, it's a secret" James teased, as he began to look around the steering wheel for where the key was placed. Kendall could see the concentration on his face as he did so.

"Do you know how to drive?" Kendall asked, as James finally shoved the key into the ignition and twisted it. The car spluttered to life and jolted slightly before the engine began to run smoothly.

"It can't be that difficult can it?" James replied with a grin, causing Kendall just to chuckle and shake his head. "I've read a few manuals, so I have a basic idea" James quickly added, causing Kendall to feel slightly more at ease. James placed the car into drive, and the car began to slowly roll forward towards the doors of the garage, ones which both of them had forgotten to open. "Shit, I knew I forgot something" James said, as he noticed them, causing Kendall to chuckle as he jumped out. He was quick to pull the door to the side, allowing enough room for the car to pull out.

"After you sir" Kendall mocked, causing James to smile as shake his head as the car pulled out of the door. Once that was done, Kendall quickly shut it, and jumped back into the car before James began to drive them off the estate, as a sense of adventure raced through Kendall's veins.

Kendall recognised the direction they were travelling from when he first arrived at the estate, so he knew that he was travelling back towards Oakland. The blond looked around at the scenery, this time properly taking in the view of the city in the distance with the moon lighting it perfectly. James on the other hand was solely focused on trying to drive the car, which he thought he was doing quite well. Both hands were glued to the steering wheel as he tried to keep the car on the right side of the road. Kendall could see how tense James was, and decided to try to help James relax slightly by talking.

"So, how was your day?" He began, seeing James flick his eyes over quickly to show he was paying attention.

"Yeah, it was alright. After you left the reading lesson, I had to meet up with my university professor and go over some work, but that was it really. What about you?" James replied, and Kendall could already see how he was slumping back in his seat slightly.

"Same here, it was alright. Fable's getting used to me, and when I come into his pen, he moves out of the way so I can get it sorted. Sometimes he even helps to move some of the hay" Kendall replied with a smile, causing James to chuckle at the thought of his horse moving out of the way to help Kendall. "Then I just practised reading a few more words. I tried to do it the other way and spell a few as well, but I need some more help with that."

"Yeah, you'll learn how to do that when I start teaching you how to write" James replied, causing Kendall to blush at the thought that these lessons were going to continue for a lot longer. The two of them settled into conversation with the small noise of the radio in the background, and at that moment, Kendall had probably felt the most content he ever had.

At this moment, it was just him and James in a car, with few worries or cares in the world as they just chatted about anything and everything.

* * *

It must have been about 30 mins later when Kendall finally realised where the two of them were heading. James had driven them through the city, and when they passed the train station, Kendall recognised the route they were traveling, as it was the same one Dak has driven them on when he first arrived. The car was soon following the coastline, and Kendall couldn't help but stare at the water in the bay as it lapped up against the rocks, something James took notice off. This formed a small smile to form on the brunet's face as he realised that his hunch about his surprise date was right.

When the car finally stopped, Kendall was quick to jump out when he realised that they had arrived at a beach. He essentially abandoned James, as the blond bolted straight onto the sand and towards the ocean, struggling to take his shoes off as he did. James just watched as the blond hopped down the beach, foot in hand as he removed his shoes. The brunet chuckled, shaking his head as he reached into the back seat and grabbed the basket he had placed their earlier in the day, contained some small bits for a picnic. When he turned back, the blond's shoes and socks were scattered across the beach as he saw Kendall stood in the ocean, the waves lapping over his feet.

"The ocean is so cold!" Kendall shouted, turning around to see James placing the wicker object on the floor and he raised his eyebrow at the brunet. "What's that?" he asked, as he began to walk back over the brunet, who has since pulled out a blanket, and was currently laying it on the ground. As the blond got closer, he saw James begin to pull out an assortment of foods. "We're having a picnic? At the beach?" Kendall began, sitting down opposite James as his eyes widened at the amount of food on display.

"Well, I remember you said that you've never left Wichita before, so I'm guessing you've never been to a beach, so I thought that I could be the first to take you. And it wouldn't be a proper day at the beach without food" James began, his eyes shifting from the floor to the blond as Kendall sat down. It wasn't long before he felt a soft pair of lips meet his own, and he was quick to kiss back.

"It's perfect" Kendall replied, sitting so his feet were just off of the blanket, allowing him to run his feet through the sand. James just chuckled at his actions, knowing the blond was likely to regret it later when he couldn't get the sand out, but for the moment, he allowed Kendall to enjoy the experience. Once the blond was settled, he was quick to glance over at the food in the basket.

There were some sandwiches, some crackers as well as some sweeter items such as brownies and cookies, and the blond wasn't shy when he began to eat some of the items. James just sat back and relaxed, watching the blond as he gorged himself with the food that was basket, obviously enjoying him. When he looked up at James, noticing that he wasn't eating any, James was quick to speak.

"I made the sandwiches, so I wanted to see if they were ok before I had one" the brunet said, causing Kendall's smile to grow even further.

"You actually made them? For me?" he asked, James nodding along as he spoke. "Thank you so much, that's incredible." He continued, as the blush settled onto his face again. For a while, the two of them sat in silence, watching the waves break on the beach as the moon light them perfectly. Kendall was munching on a cookie when he began to speak again. "I never thought that this would happen" he began, causing James to turn to him, wiping a stray crumb from the side of Kendall's mouth before the blond continued. "I never thought that I'd be sat at the beach, and I never even considered that I'd be doing it with someone like you"

"Someone like me?" James questioned, wondering what Kendall meant by that.

"Someone who cares about me like you do" Kendall replied, another blush settling on his, one that James thought made the blond look endearing.

"You really never thought you'd leave Wichita?" James asked, causing Kendall to shake his head.

"I assumed that I'd live their my whole life, working for the Morgan's" Kendall replied, sighing as he thought back to the 9 years he'd spent working there, causing him to shudder slightly.

"But didn't you have any dreams that you wanted to fulfil?" James replied, causing the blond to look at him with confusion written all over his face.

"A lot of my dreams include me flying and I can't do that" Kendall replied, with James matching his confusion as the blond spoke. It took his a few seconds, but James finally caught on to what Kendall meant.

"No, I don't mean dreams at night, I meant like goals or aspirations, something that you wanted to achieve" James replied, Kendall quickly looking down at the floor when he realised what James meant.

"Not really" the blond muttered, causing James to shift closer to him and pull Kendall up against his chest in an attempt to comfort him. "I mean, the only thing I really wanted was for my family to be happy, and you've done that for me" Kendall continued, before looking up at James, who could see the sincerity and dare he say love in his eyes. In response, James pressed a chaste kiss onto his forehead before he spoke.

"Then I think we should come up with something new. Something that you would love to do in your life" James began, causing Kendall to look like a fish out of water.

"Like what?"

"Anything, Kendall anything. Anything that you'd just love to do. For example, I'd love to travel to London one day." James replied, before the two of them settled into silence as Kendall thought about what James had said. A couple minutes passed before he spoke again.

"I do love to sing" the blond said out loud, gaining James' attention. "And I'd love to learn how to play the guitar again, like my dad used to teach me. Is that good enough?" he asked, causing James to chuckle as the blond's phrasing.

"As long as it's good enough for you Kendall, that's all that matters" James replied, as Kendall snuggled closer to James.

"It's settled then. I'd love to learn how to play the guitar" Kendall repeated, saying his dream like it was some sort of command. The thought made James chuckle.

He knew that the blond had a long way to go before he started to think about himself as much as he did others, but James was hoping that he could help Kendall achieve that and do something that he truly enjoyed.

* * *

 **So there we have it! Camille questioned Kendall on the date, and when Kendall was about to explain it, Carlos jumped in and now he knows everything, as well as you finding out that he is gay as well! We also had a mention of Mercedes Griffin, who will play a part later in the story. James and Kendall then hijacked a car, and spent the night at the beach, where the two of them started to talk about dreams, and Kendall came up with a new one which related back to his father!**

 **A massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11 and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm so glad that you all enjoyed the sweet Kames moments in the chapter, with you all saying how you loved the kiss! I loved writing that as well, as I could just picture it so clearly, so I thought it was perfect! I'd glad you also enjoyed Kendall sharing his memories with his father, as that was something that I really wanted to include. And of course Camille would be suspicious of Kendall, especially with how the two of them have been acting together.**

 **I'm not going to lie to you all, at the moment, I am having so much fun writing The New Frontier, and I am about half way through the second chapter of it, as I'm writing a little bit of it each day, so expect that to be uploaded soon! Thank you all so much for the reviews on that last chapter, and they have really motivated me to keep writing it! I will see you all on Thursday for Love, James if you don't get a New Frontier chapter before but until then,**

 **TTFN :D**


	14. Chapter 14: The Taylor's

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! Thank you all so much for the support on the last chapter, and let's crack on!**

* * *

When James walked into the living room one morning, he couldn't help but notice how dressed up both his mum and dad were. Sure, the two of them were also dressed in something sophisticated, but today the two of them were dressed up like they were expecting someone. That's when the thought suddenly dawned on James, only reinforced when his mother looked over him and pulled a facial expression of almost…let's just say low level disgust.

"James, the Taylor's and their adopted boy are coming around, you need to get dressed properly!" She said, as he walked towards him in order to look over his outfit further, while James already began to dread the day. With the Taylor's coming over, it meant James would have to spend the day fending off the flirtatious attacks from both Jo Taylor and the 'adopted boy' as his mum put it, Jett Stetson. It was safe to say, without James sounding big headed, that Jo was desperate to marry him and every time she came around, she would always flirt with him to the extreme, some which would have turned him off massively if he were straight.

As if that wasn't bad enough, what also seemed to add to the torture of their visit was Jett, who also flirted with James in a more discreet manor. The different with Jett however was that he and James always ended up doing something each time he visited, both of the boys knowing that they would use the other for some sort of relief before not seeing each other again for another six months to a year. James wasn't particularly proud of this arrangement, but he got him what he wanted, so he usually wasn't fussed.

This time however, James was dreading having to see Jett, mostly because he would now have to fend off the attacks, since he was with Kendall and it was safe to say that Jett knew how to persuade James. The brunet trembled at the thought, before turning his attention back to his mother.

"Now, go tell the servants that we need them to be on their best behaviour, as well as giving this list to Carlos for what to cook. Then you need to go get changed!" she commanded, trusting a note into his hand. With a slow nod, James made his way to the back of the house, the whole journey filled with the thoughts of what he was doing to have to do about Jett, the prevailing thought being that he would have to try and avoid being alone with him.

That couldn't be so difficult right?

As James walked into the servant's kitchen, he saw how everyone was gathered around the table laughing at something as the tucked into their breakfasts. That all seemed to stop as soon as they noticed him.

"Sir" chorused around the room, and there was a small part of James that felt bad for interrupting the jovial atmosphere as well as sad before not being apart of it. Shaking that thought aside, he began.

"I've just been told that we are expecting the Taylor's for lunch" he began, and he could see how everyone's facial expression changed into one of misery. _'It's nice to know I'm not the only one that feels that way'_ he thought to himself as he continued to speak. "The estate needs to be in perfect condition for when they arrive and needs to stay that way for the entirety of their visit" he continued, before walking over to Carlos and Jennifer. "This is a list of the food that mother wants cooks, so I assume it won't be a problem?" he asked, causing Carlos to shake his head.

Through the whole thing, Kendall couldn't help but think that he'd never seen this side of James before. He was so serious, and to be frank, quite scary and Kendall wasn't sure whether he liked it or not.

"Not at all sir" Carlos replied, causing James to make his way back towards the door. Before he left however, he stopped and turned back to everyone, letting out a sigh.

"And now that all that official stuff is out of the way, I just want to say that I'm sorry about all this. I only found out about their visit about 10 minutes ago and if I had known sooner, I would have let you all know before. Just do what you can" he finished, a small smile growing on his face. As he glanced around the room, he knew everyone could see how sympathetic he was, and with one final nod, he left leaving everyone in silence as they digested the information.

* * *

It wasn't long after James left when Bitters jumped up from his seat. "What is everyone sitting around for? Get to work!" He yelled, causing everyone to jump slightly as he began to issue orders. "Dak, make sure the cars are cleaned spotless in case the Taylor's want to go out for a drive. Camille, Kendall, make sure that none of the horses leave the stable today. I want them all ready in case they want to go out for a ride. Carlos, Jennifer, make sure that the food is absolutely perfect, and that every single one of the dishes are clean!"

"Bitters calm down!" Lucy was quick to intervene, seeing how red and flustered the large male was getting. "Everyone knows what to do, we've done it lots of times. Now let's get cracking" she finished, and that got everyone moving. Kendall followed Camille out to the stable, and he could see that she didn't look very happy about this whole thing.

"What's wrong" Kendall asked as they opened the stable door.

"By leaving the horses in the stable, it means that we can't muck out the stable as quickly or as efficiently. Basically, it's going to take us longer to complete each pen and they take long enough as it is" she replied, before turning to him properly. "But if it were me, I'd be more worried about myself"

"What to you mean by that?" Kendall asked, raising his eyebrow at her.

"Oh shit, you don't know" she began, as she grabbed a rake off the rack.

"Don't know what?" Kendall asked, pushing even further as he also grabbed a rake and made his way into the first pen.

"Jo's obsessed with James, and she flirts with him constantly while she is here. James obviously isn't interested in her, but she doesn't let that stop her. The amount of times I've seen her hanging off him is incredible" Camille replied, jealously surging through Kendall as she spoke.

"But I thought that Mercedes was obsessed with James!" Kendall almost shouted back. This was the second time that a girl obsessed with James had been mentioned, and he certainly wasn't enjoying finding out about them. Of course, it didn't matter that James was gay, and not interested in these girls, the thought of someone else touching James like Kendall did was unacceptable.

He could picture it now, her laughing at every singe joke he told, her touching up his arm, feeling his muscles under his jacket. Those were his muscles, god damn it, and he'd have to die before he let anyone else near them. Camille seemed completely aware of Kendall's thought process, especially when she saw how much his grip had tightened on the rake, so like the supportive friend she was, she tried to help.

"I wouldn't worry about them though, especially Jo. I mean, James is gay for a start, so he's not interested in her what so ever, and he is completely infatuated with you Kendall. I mean, just think what he's done for you" she stated, causing Kendall's flurry of thoughts to level out slightly.

Of course she was completely right, and James was completely infatuated with the smaller blond, but that didn't stop Kendall from worrying. When Camille saw her comment hadn't helped as much as she wanted, she tried to make light of the situation hoping a joke would help calm his nerves. Of course, the joke she made did nothing of the sort.

"Besides, it's Jett I would be worried about. I mean, phew, wait until you see the guy" the words slipped out of her mouth and she was unable to stop them when she realised what she had said. Kendall's thought now returned to the previous, confused, jealous rage they were experiencing.

Kendall could picture it so clearly, a beautiful male, rivalling James' own looks. One that was experienced with all the stuff that James was, one that James could have intellectual conversations with about the current issues the world was facing. One that James didn't have to teach to read, write or count, and one that had a vast amount of wealth that he could use to treat James to whatever he wanted.

Those thoughts truly made his jealously bubble, and while he could hear Camille trying to back track what she had said, it didn't help his feelings. The blond focused his rage into the work he was doing, as a small portion of his brain told him not to worry.

Camille was right about one thing, James had done so much for him and he had expressed how he felt for the blond quite a few times so while Kendall knew that he didn't have to worry about James, he now focused all of that hatred into this Jett character.

* * *

As the Diamond Family gathered outside, James couldn't help the groan that escaped his mouth when he saw the Taylor's car up the drive. He really didn't want to have to deal with this, but apparently his mother couldn't be persuaded otherwise. He was going to have to suffer. When James took a quick glance over at the stable door, he couldn't help but notice how it was open slightly and despite how secretive Kendall was trying to be, James could see the strands of blond hair peeking through the crack. James couldn't decide whether to chuckle or frown at the action, knowing that Camille had probably told him about Jo.

There was two ways he could take Kendall's peeking, the first being that Kendall was extremely jealous of Jo, despite not knowing what she looked like, and the fact that James was gay. James had experienced this with Kendall before over Logan, so while he wanted that to be the reason, the other one kept its small place in his mind. Kendall didn't trust James and was therefore checking up on him. The older male was quick to shake the thought out of his head when the car pulled up in front of him, internally groaning at what was to come next.

As the door opened, Mr and Mrs Taylor emerged, causing the brunet to force a smile on his face as his family greeted them.

"Mr, Mrs Taylor, it's so nice to see you again. It's been ages" Henry said, giving a handshake and a hug respectively.

"Indeed it has" Mr Taylor replied, as their two children emerged from the car. "You remember Jo, and Jett" he said, instantly ushering Jo to stand directly in front of James.

"Mr Diamond" she said, flashing James the flirtiest smile she could muster. That just made James swallow the lump that had formed in his thought before replying.

"Miss Taylor" he replied, bowing at her to show respect. He caught some movement over by the stable and could now see that Camille had joined in with the fun, watching the whole introduction transpire. When James returned his attention to the Taylor's, he saw that Jett was now stood in front of him grinning.

"Mr Diamond" Jett said, extending his hand out for a handshake. James glanced down at his hand, up at his face which was sporting the most suggestive smile he'd ever seen, and then back over to the stable door, before he took Jett's hand into his own. Jett's hands were smooth, and James couldn't help but compare them to Kendall's, thinking how rough yet soft the blond's hands were.

As weird as it sounded, James seemed to enjoy the rough skin on Kendall's hand grazing against his own, and he instantly decided that he hated the contact he was having with Jett. As if to make the situation worse, Jett raised his hand up onto the top of James' arm, a gesture that would look completely friendly in the eyes of everyone else. For James however, he could feel how Jett's fingers seemed to tap against his bicep, as if to gauge if the muscle had grown since last time, and the contact seemed to remain for a second too long before the hand was finally removed and James could escape the hand shake as well.

The brunet shuddered at the events that had transpired, but when he looked over at the stable, he could practically make out the blond's face due to the bright red colour it had gained. James knew it was definitely jealously that Kendall was feeling, but what he hadn't expected was that the blond would feel it for Jett instead of Jo.

Then again, Kendall could probably see how attractive Jett was, and with the blond constantly putting himself down, it wouldn't be difficult for him to be jealous. With the Diamond's quickly ushering everyone inside, James took one last look over to the stable. Knowing that he had to be discreet, yet wanting to get his message across, James settled for one of his favourite things to do and shot a wink over.

Hoping Kendall saw it, the older male turned and followed the rest of his family back into the house.

* * *

"See, he just winked at you, you have nothing to worry about!" Camille said, pulling herself away from the stable door now that everyone had left. "I told you that he only wants you"

"I'm not worried about that, I'm worried about that bastard Jett" Kendall replied, turning away from the door himself. "I mean, did you see how he touched James, that's my muscle" he growled out, causing Camille to chuckle.

"I've never seen you this possessive before"

"I'm not possessive, just…"

"Possessive, jealous, possibly murderous if it continues" Camille listed off a few words, causing Kendall's embarrassment to grow slowly. He was definitely feeling all of the above. "Besides, I told you, you have nothing to worry about. We saw James shudder when Jett let his hand go. He obviously isn't interested in him"

"I know, I know!" Kendall said, throwing his hands up into the air. "I just can't seem to help it" he continued, letting out a dejected sigh as he walked back to where he was previously working.

"I sound like you love him" Camille said with a shrug, causing Kendall's head to shoot over to me.

"Love?" Kendall asked, causing her to shake her head.

"You know, when you…" "

I know what love is! It's just…can you love someone this early?" he asked, causing her to shrug.

"I said this before Kendall, there is no explaining love. It just feels right" She replied, as Kendall pondered what she had said.

Did he truly love James?

It would explain why he like to spend time with the brunet, and why he wanted to be with him every second of the day, wrapped in his arms while James helped him read. It would also explain the massive surge of jealously he experienced when Jett arrived.

"Holy shit" he muttered under his breath, as the realisation dawned on him.

He loved James.

* * *

While Kendall was deep in revelation, James was sat around the dinner table, and he was very unlucky when it came to the seating plan. The brunet had Jo sat opposite him, and to make matter so much worse, Jett was sat to his right and boy, did that cause a devilish smile to grow on the flirtatious boy's face. After Carlos and Jennifer had finished bringing out the starters, conversation sparked on the table, with most of it being centre around James.

"So, James, I heard that you are attending university?" Mr Taylor asked, causing James to nod at his comment. Before he could reply, Jo jumped into the conversation.

"Of course he is father. James is really intelligent and it would be a waste if he didn't" she said, batting her eyelashes at the brunet as she said it. That causes James to swallow out of the embarrassment he was feeling for the blonde girl.

"I do. I'm studying literature" he replied, seeing the facial expression that Mr Taylor had pulled.

"What a weird subject. Do you plan to become a writer?" he asked, ending his sentence with a chuckle as if to say that the idea was crazy. Again, before James could speak, Jo jumped to his defence.

"Don't be ridiculous Daddy, I'm sure there is lots that James can do with a literature degree" she stated, but that wasn't what drew James' focus this time. What was, was the fact that Jett had started to run his foot up the side of James' leg as if only to tease him. James once again, shuddered at the action before he replied to the comment.

"I hadn't considered being a writer. To the honest, I studied the subject at first because I enjoyed it" he started, kicking his right leg out ever so slightly so that Jett would stop. The action was only semi-successful when James continued his sentence. "But, I've recently been thinking about a starting to teach people to read and write in my spare time. I've learnt that there are people who this could really make a difference for" he finished, a smile being brought to his face as he thought back to how happy Kendall was the first time he read a word.

The joy of the blond's face was indescribable and he could imagine helping to do that for more people. Of course, his reveal caused silence to loom across the table as everyone considered what he had said. He could tell what they were thinking, they we're thinking that he was crazy to do such a thing, that why would want to help the 'peasant' folk when he would gain nothing from it, but the brunet didn't care as he took the next bit out of his food.

As he expected, it was Jo who spoke up next. "Well, I think that is a very noble idea" she complimented, but even he could tell that she didn't mean it.

The meal was awkward from that moment on, and for some reason that made James glad. He was glad that he absolutely ruined the mood for this meal today, as it made everyone else feel as he did when it started.

Now, however, he couldn't seem to get a smile off of his face, as the thought about the joy learning to read had brought Kendall. Now that he had said it out loud, the idea of teaching people to read and write was becoming more and more inciting.

* * *

 **So there we have it! The Taylor's and Jett has arrived at the Diamond estate, and its causing all sorts of problems for James and Kendall. Of course, Kendall is extremely jealous but that led to him having a revelation, and we also had James trying to fend off Jo and Jett's attacks! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and next time, we will get a conclusion to their visit!**

 **A massive thank you to Guest, RainbowDiamonds, Winterschild11 and LoganLover96 for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm so glad to see that you enjoyed the beach date! I really enjoyed writing it, especially with the whole talk about dreams and whatnot, and I'm glad to see that you all loved what Kendall concluded on. You also seemed surprised by the mention of Mercedes Griffin, which I'm glad about, because she will play a huge role in this story later on, but first we have to get past Jo and Jett!**

 **I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Love, James, which is one of my personal favourites as well as the one after that, but until then,**

 **TTFN :D**


	15. Chapter 15: Beaten

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! This is the conclusion to the Taylor's visit on the Estate, so let's crack on!**

* * *

Finally, Finally, lunch was over, and James was able to escape the hellish table! Finally, James was able to escape the awkward conversation that had been caused by his revelations, and finally, fucking finally, James could escape the constant inane, inept flirting from Jo and the suggestive actions of Jett next to him. As Carlos and Jennifer cleared the table of dessert, offering everyone a cup of coffee, James decided to make his excuse, hoping that it was believable enough to buy.

"If you'll excuse me, I have some university work to finish." James said, directing the request mostly to his father. He knew what his father was like, and with a quick flash of desperation in his eyes, he knew his father would crack.

"Of course James" Henry replied, understanding flashing in his eyes back at James. James nodded back to his father, before pushing the chair away from the table and walking out of the dining room. As soon as he was past the doors, the brunet breathed out a sigh of relief knowing that he was finally free. When he heard someone chuckle, he looked up to see Jennifer was staring at him with a small smile on his face.

"Stressful dinner Sir?" she asked, with a hint of teasing in her voice, causing James to chuckle as he replied.

"Not at all. I loved making it awkward by telling everyone what I want to do in the future, and there was nothing I adored more than Jo constantly singing my praises" he replied, sarcasm lacing his voice. The response caused Jennifer to laugh properly, one which James replied.

"Well, I think it's highly nice of you to do such a thing" she replied, and James knew that she meant it, especially with her experience with Kendall. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some coffee to deliver"

"Of course, thank you" James replied, flashing her a small smile. As she turned to walk away, James was quick to speak up again. "Oh and Jennifer" he said, causing her to look over her shoulder with her eyebrow raised. "If you repeat that to anyone, I'll.." he began, falling short when he couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't sound horrible. With a small smile and a chuckle, Jennifer replied.

"You have my word sir" she responded, a larger smile growing on her face as she walked away. With Jennifer heading back into the dining room, James decided it would be best to make his way up to his study as if to continue his illusion, but first he wanted to make a quick stop, and by that he meant he wanted to check the back of the house in order to see if Kendall was around for him to have a chat too.

The brunet felt like he just needed someone to vent to after the meal he had, and he knew that Kendall would be there to listen to him without judgement. James took another deep breath, before heading to the back of the house, feeling the need to ready himself before he saw the blonde but when he walked into the back of the house however, he was met with Carlos washing the dishes. The brunet sighed at his misfortune causing Carlos to jump slightly.

"I'm sorry if I startled you" James began, causing Carlos to chuckle as he continued to dry a plate.

"Don't worry about it sir, I was in my own little world anyway" the Latino replied, before raising his eyebrow at James when he saw how he was shifting awkwardly. "Is there something I can help you with sir?"

"No, I was just looking for Kendall. If you see him, can you tell him to come see me in my study."

"Of course Sir" Carlos replied, a subtle smirk settling on his face due to the fact that he knew about the two of them. Luckily, James didn't seem to pick up on his facial expression however, waving Carlos goodbye before walking back into the hallway. As soon as he shut the kitchen door behind him, he turned around to see Jett stood there with his eyebrow raised.

"Going to study eh?" he asked, causing James to let out a sigh at the fact that one, he'd been caught, and two, he didn't want to deal with this right now.

"I'm just going to my study now Jett, so if you'll excuse me" he replied, as he tried to get around the other brunet in front of him. Of course, before James could pass him, Jett seemed to move into his way, keeping him trapped in the hallway.

"Are you sure you don't want me to join you. I can…help you study" Jett replied, placing his hand onto James' upper arm.

"I'm really not in the mood for this Jett" James replied, keeping his voice calm as he tried to avoid raising suspicion. He shrugged Jett's hand off his arm, but when he went to walk away again, Jett moved into his way again. "Seriously, just let me go" James replied, but when Jett didn't move, the brunet became so frustrated that he tried to push past him. Shoulder barging was planned to move the other brunet out of the way, but as soon as his shoulder made contact with Jett's, he felt the other brunet grab him and push him back against the wall, using his arms and legs to keep James pinned.

"You always were hard to get" Jett growled into his ear, as James struggled against him, hoping that he could get himself free.

* * *

Kendall was starting to become exceptionally dehydrated by the amount of working that he was doing, and especially under the heat he was doing it in. With all the horses in the stable as they tried to clean it, body heat seemed to run is ample supply and the blond couldn't help but sweat. Knowing he'd had enough, he was quick to excuse himself.

"I'm going to get a glass of water. You want one?" Kendall spoke up, causing Camille to nod as her response. As the blond left, he looked over to where the dining room was situated in the house and couldn't help but imagine what was going on in that room. Jealously sparked up as he imagined Jett and Jo flirting with James, Jett resting his hand on James' arm or even the two of them sneaking off in private, so that they could do whatever they wanted to each other. Of course, this caused Kendall to start raging with anger, despite the fact that none of this was happening. As the blond walked through the back door of the house, he was met with Carlos who was washing dishes. As the Latino heard the back door shut, he looked over to see Kendall smiling back at him.

"Hey"

"Hey. James was just looking for you. Said he wants you to go up to his study" Carlos replied, as he wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manor. Of course, that just caused Kendall to blush as he knew exactly what Carlos meant by it.

"Alright, I'll head up in a minute. I just need to get a glass of water for Camille and me" he replied, grabbing a few glasses and filling the two of them with water.

"Here, let me take the one out to Camille. I bet you are dying to see James" Carlos replied, wiggling his eyebrows again, before grabbing the glass.

"Thank you" Kendall responded, a blush setting on his face when Carlos smirked back at him. As the door shut behind Carlos, Kendall quickly got another glass of water in order to help him recover from the heat, but once the tap has finished running, the blond heard a bang come from the other side of the door leading into the house.

Curious to see where the loud noise had come from, Kendall placed his glass on the draining board before heading to the door, and the whole time he could hear what he thought was someone struggling and that caused him to move at a more accelerated rate. Of course, when the blond swung open the door, he was met with the view of his nightmare and his eyes turned red with anger.

"Jett get off me!" James struggled, trying to remove Jett who was pressing against his weight. Of course, when the two of them heard the kitchen door swing open, they both turned pale at the sight, but James could see the anger that was raging in Kendall's eyes.

"Get off of him" the blond seethed, walking up to Jett and giving him a might shove, causing him to stumble off of James. It seemed however that Jett was not impressed by that action.

"Who the fuck do you think you are peasant?" Jett snapped back, before striking Kendall around the mouth. "How dare you fucking touch me" Jett continued, brushing himself off, as if to try and get all of the 'peasant's' germs off of him. "Why don't you just fuck off, so Mr Diamond and I can continue our business. Go back to shovelling shit or whatever you were doing"

Of course, as soon as Kendall recovered from Jett's punch, the seal containing all of his pent-up rage seemed to break and the blond couldn't help but lunge at him. Before Jett had any time to respond, he was being pushed back against the wall, much like Jett was doing to James.

"How dare you touch him!" Kendall shrieked at Jett, allowing all his rage and jealously to leave his body as he essentially staked his claim on James. Speaking of James, the older male was suddenly stood in there in shock over what was happening. He hadn't expected Kendall to be there, let alone to push Jett of him, and then pin Jett to a wall.

In all fairness, James would have tried to have stopped Kendall if he didn't think Jett deserved that. That and the fact that he was slightly turned on by the possessiveness Kendall was showing. As expected however, Jett was a lot stronger than Kendall was, and was able to push the blond to the floor, Kendall hitting it with a large thud as his ass slammed into the concrete. He could see how angry Jett had become, and before Kendall could even try to get himself off the floor, Jett began to kick his side of his torso, while spitting vile words at the blond.

"Such a filthy peasant you are. I can just smell the shit coming off out." Jett spat out, as Kendall pulled himself into a huddle, while he was continually getting beat on. Of course, seeing this happen caused something to snap inside of James as well, with him wrapping his arms around the other brunet in an attempt to pull him off Kendall. James wasn't as strong as Jett however, meaning that while he did make some headway on the entire situation, it didn't stop the beating that Kendall was getting.

Of course that all stopped when the three men heard a shriek, and when they looked over, they saw the entirely of the Diamond and Taylor Families watching them. _'Bingo'_ James thought to himself, Jett's face paling as he saw them. The brunet was quick to push himself back, getting away from Kendall and James before speaking up.

"Father this isn't…" was as far as he got before Mrs Taylor slapped him right across the face.

"Silence, _boy'_ She said with such spite in his eyes as Brooke moved over to help Kendall off of the floor, who was currently holding his side. When she attempted to lift him, with James' help, the blond winced in pain, letting out a small whimper as he did so.

"James, explain what happened right now!" Henry demanded, James nodding with a sense of expedience.

"Well, father. I left to go to my office, but first I came to check if Kendall was available" he began, before turning to Mr and Mrs Taylor. "You see, I've been teaching him how to read, since I want the best for our employees" he added, hoping to make their guilt about the situation worse before continuing. "But when I saw that he was still working, I made my way back into this very hallway, where Jett was waiting for me. He stood in my way, and wouldn't allow me to leave, threatening me that…" the brunet paused slightly, knowing that he couldn't tell them the truth out of fear for prosecution. Instead, he took a deep breath and continued. "That if I didn't marry Jo, then he would make up some ridiculous lie about me in order to ruin my life" That gained a gasp from Jo, Brooke and Mrs Taylor.

With the desired effect, James continued. "I tried to tell him that he was being preposterous, but when I went to move away, he pinned me to the wall. That when Kendall came in" James could see the anger that had flared in Jett's eyes, but he didn't care at all. No one could beat his Kendall like that and get away with it. He was going to make Jett pay, and hard. "Kendall tried to get Jett to stop, and he pulled Jett away from me, per my request. But when he did, Jett swung at Kendall catching him around the face" he continued, everyone's eyes focusing to the red patch on Kendall's cheek. "Jett then pushed Kendall onto the floor, and well, you saw what he was doing to him. I tried to get Jett off, but I couldn't get him to stop"

"It's not true! Kendall attacked me, and I fought back. The peasant pinned me against the wall" Jett raged, taking a step towards the blond. Of course, as soon as he did, Kendall took a step back, fear radiating in his eyes. Everyone began to mummer at the events that had transpired, but Brooke was the one to break it all.

"Kendall sweetie" she said, causing Kendall to look up at her. "Is Jett telling the truth?" she asked, and Kendall was quick to shake his head, once again causing Mrs Taylor to slap Jett around the face.

"Well, I think we've heard enough. Mr Taylor, please gather your things, leave, and never return. I take the welfare of my workers very seriously and for you son to commit such an act is horrific" he said, causing Mr Taylor to look down at the floor and nod.

"Of course." He began, before turning to Jett and shooting him a glare that sent a very clear message.

"I'm going to take Kendall to get some ice. It should help with the swelling" James spoke up, hooking his arm around Kendall's waist. To everyone else, it would look like the brunet was helping the blond walk away from the scene, but to the two of them, it was an excuse for a short cuddle. As the two of them began to walk back into kitchen, Kendall began to hobble as if to show his injuries and winced slightly every time he walked. That all stopped however when the kitchen door shut behind them, with Kendall rolling his shoulders slightly as if to stretch them out.

"Wait, what happened to the hobble?" James whispered into his ear, causing the blond to shrug slightly.

"Please, I've done more damage falling off horses" Kendall replied, causing James to chuckle before he spoke up again.

"So that was all an act?"

"To make that bastard Jett pay yeah. No one hurts you and gets away with it" Kendall growled back, causing James hold on him to tighten, despite the fact that Carlos and Camille had now entered the kitchen.

"Oh my god, Kendall what happened?" Camille asked, running over to the blond when he saw the red patch on his face, that was starting to bruise a little already.

"Jett happened" Kendall replied, as Camille cupped his chin in order to get a better look.

"Carlos, can you get a couple bags of ice for Kendall's injuries. Camille, as you can probably guess, Kendall won't be working for the rest of the day. And you can let the horses out, the Taylor's are leaving" James spoke, causing the two of them to nod. With Carlos quickly grabbing the ice, James pretended to lead Kendall back into the hallway, just in case anyone was still there. With no signs of them, the two males quickly scuttled upstairs and into James' study.

As soon as the door closed and was locked behind them, James pulled Kendall into a kiss, one that shocked Kendall but that he was quick to return, despite the slight pain he was feeling.

"Fuck, that was so hot!" James panted once the kiss was finished.

"What? Me getting beat on?" Kendall replied, raising his eyebrow slightly causing James to chuckle.

"You saving me" James replied, before pulling Kendall into another kiss as he backed the two of them onto the sofa he had in his office. James was first to fall onto the cushioned surface, with Kendall landing on top of him. The kiss deepened, as the situation became more heated. James' arms wrapped around the blond, and grabbed onto his ass, causing Kendall to gasp which James took as an opportunity to slide his tongue into the blond's mouth. It was safe to say that this was the farthest that Kendall had ever gotten sexually, but now that it had started, he didn't want it to stop, especially with the pleasure he was feeling negating the pain.

In an attempt to get closer to James, and to further the pleasure he was feeling, Kendall began to roll his hips against James, and he moaned at the feeling he gained. James, swallowing Kendall's moans, met the rhythm of the blond, thrusting back against him only furthering the pleasure the two of them were feeling. Everything else was forgotten about in that moment, the two males constantly thrusting and moaning into each other as their pace quickened and before long, Kendall felt an overwhelming surge of pleasure, causing him to pull out of the kiss, as his head rolled back in pleasure. James followed closely behind Kendall, arching his back at the pleasure, causing enough friction between the two of them to allow him to release.

With the two boys panting, Kendall fell onto James' chest with his head resting on James shoulder as their hearts beat in sync. With a few minutes passing by, Kendall eventually pulled himself off of James, but when he felt all wet, he looked down to see a stain on his trousers. The blond raised his eyebrow at it, before touching it and feeling how wet it was, causing him to shudder slightly. James just chuckled at the blond's actions, causing Kendall's focus to shoot up at him.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I'll just give you a spare change of trouser for when you go down" James replied, but Kendall still confused.

"But what it is? I mean, I know I didn't piss myself" the blond replied, with such innocence and sincerity in his eyes that James felt like he'd fallen deeper in love.

"What, you've never came before?"

"Came?"

"You know, cum."

"Cum?" Kendall replied, James now pulling himself up on the sofa so that he was sat up straight as he gained the feeling that he was about to give Kendall the sex talk.

"Yeah, cum. You know, when you get so much pleasure down there that you cum" James continued, causing Kendall to shake his head. "So, you've never wanked before?"

"Wanked?" Kendall replied, confusion all over his face. James had known that the blond was innocent, but he didn't realise that he was this innocent.

 _'Damn, I'm literally Kendall's first for everything'_ James thought as he patted the seat next to him, one that Kendall took with a certain amount of curiosity. "Ok, so when you get a lot of pleasure down there, your dick released cum, or semen, and that's what causes a girl to get pregnant. But any pleasure down there can cause you to cum" James said, causing Kendall to nod as he took in the information. "And you cum because you orgasm, which was that massive surge of pleasure you got" he continued, causing Kendall to blush slightly.

"Oh ok, well I really enjoyed it" Kendall replied, snuggling into James as he said it.

"Yeah, me too" James replied, placing a kiss onto the blond's forehead as they settled into silence. The two of them were considering what had happened today, and Kendall was truly considering his revelation about James. The way that the brunet had treated him, especially a few minutes ago, definitely helped Kendall gain the reassure he needed that he did love James. Of course, could he just tell the brunet such a thing? And how would James react if he did?

The blond definitely had a lot to consider, but he was sure on the fact that he loved the brunet.

* * *

It was a few hours later when the two of them finally emerged from James' office, and after James had walked Kendall back to his room, under the pretence that Kendall was struggling to walk, the brunet made his way into the living room, where his mother and father were sat. He hadn't spoken to them since the incident, and he was curious to see what they were going to say. As he walked in, the two of them looked up at him, and flashing him a small smile before gesturing for him to sit down.

"The Taylor's send their apologies" Brooke began, causing James to roll his eyes slightly which she chuckled at.

"And I think it's safe to say that they won't be coming to the estate anymore, so you won't have to fend off Jo's obvious flirting"

"Thank the lord" James replied, causing the two of them to chuckle.

"I just can't believe Jett would do such a thing, and yet, we witnessed it. It's awful" Brooke replied, causing James to nod as Henry spoke up.

"Is Kendall ok? He seemed to take quite a beating" he asked, causing James to nod.

"I think he'll be ok. I applied ice to it right away, but he'll still bruise. Only time will tell how long he is hurting for" James replied, as he put a sad smile on his face. Of course, he knew that the blond was completely fine, but he wanted to keep the charade up. With the questions over, the room seemed to settle into silence, but James could tell that there was tension in the air, yet he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was about. That all changed when his father spoke up again.

"So, about dinner" he began, and James internally groaned slightly, before paying full attention to his father. "Did you mean what you said about teaching people to read?" Henry asked, causing James to nod.

 _'I did, and I'll be damned if you're going to talk me out of it´_ James thought to himself, before replying. "I did. I've seen how it is helping Kendall in life, and I want to help more people if I can" he replied, causing his father to nod.

"And you'll charge for these lessons?"

"No, I want them to be for people who can't afford to send their children to school. Everyone should have the option to learn, but it should be up to them to decide" James replied, and he could see his father looking at him, yet he couldn't tell what emotion he was feeling. The brunet swallowed when he saw his father open his mouth.

"I'm proud of you son" he began, causing James to let out a sigh of relief, as well as blush slightly. "It is a valiant action to undertake, and I'm sure you'll succeed at it" When Henry finished, the room settled into another silence, but James knew this time that his family were approving of his action, something he was grateful for. This time, the silence was broken when a knock on the door was heard. "Enter" his father said, and Bitters was revealed when the door was opened, his face a deathly white colour as he spoke.

"Sir, you may want to turn on the radio. Some big news has been revealed" he replied, causing Henry to reach other, and turn on said device. Of course, as soon as they heard the words coming from it, everyone in the room paled.

Big news didn't even begin to cover it.

* * *

 **Dun dun dunnnnn! So this is where the real drama of the story will begin, so I hope you are ready for it! Any guesses of what it might be? Anyway, so I hope you all enjoyed the conclusion to the Taylor's visit, and Kames have finally done something, with Kendall being unsure of what happened, bless him. I have to admit, I was wondering whether I should make Kendall that innocent, but I think it works well.**

 **A massive thank you to Guest, Loganlover96, Winterschild11 and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm glad to hear that you all liked it! I think James becoming a teacher is a great idea as well, and I have to admit, it was something I didn't even plan for when I began writing this story, but I think it fits his character perfectly! I'm also glad to see that RainbowDiamonds agrees with me about how annoying Jo is! We've talked about our personal vendetta against her before, so I couldn't help but make her a little irritating! And of course, Kendall would be jealous, but we all know how the two of them feel about each other! Unfortunately, they don't know it but maybe that will change soon!**

 **I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Love, James, which I am super excited to upload for you all, but until then,**

 **TTFN :D 😃**


	16. Chapter 16: Shipped Out

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So this is the big turning point in the story, and it seems a few of you already know what it is going to be, so let's crack on!**

* * *

' _After the repeated attacks on the citizens of the United States of America, the Senate and the_ _Representatives of the United States of America in Congress have therefore decided that the declaration of war on The Imperial German Government is hereby formally declared from this moment onwards on the 6_ _th_ _April 1917. The President is thereby authorized and directed to employ the entire naval and military forces of the United States, as well as the resources of the Government to bring the conflict to a swift and successful resolution. Therefore, all resources of the country are hereby pledged to the Congress of the United States.'_

The radio spoke, with James, Henry, Brooke and Bitters gathered round it with shock and confusion on their faces. When the transmission cut out, Bitters was quick to excuse himself leaving the Diamond family to consider what has been said. James was the first person to speak up.

"What does this mean?" he asked, gaining the basic concept of what they had said, but not the part about the resources being pledged.

"I'm not really sure son" Henry replied, glancing over to Brooke to see if she knew, causing her to shake her head. The whole situation was completely new to the family, and none of them knew what to do. "We can only wait to see what the government does. I'm sure they'll explain everything in time. We just need to wait and be patient" Henry stated, causing James to nod.

James could tell however by the look on his father's face, that he was also scared by the news and that didn't bode well for anyone in this situation. While James did like to face the unknown every now and again, this felt like a step too far out of his comfort zone.

* * *

When James was in bed later that evening, he could hear the bell in his room going off, and he was quick to jump out of bed at the sound of it. Grabbing his slippers and dressing gown, the brunet made his way down to the kitchen, where as expected Kendall was waiting for him.

The two flashed each other a quick smile, not saying a word as they headed out the back door and towards the summer house once again. Nothing needed to be said as James wrapped his arms around the blond while they walked through the orchard, and when James noticed that Kendall was snuggling up to his dressing gown once again, he was quick to remove it and place it round the blond as they walked, completely in sync with one another.

When they arrive at the summer house, the two of them were quick to snuggle up on the sofa together, this time not worrying about being caught by Camille. That was the least of their concerns at the moment, with the news from the radio, and Kendall was the first to speak up about it. Resting his head onto James' chest, he spoke.

"I'm scared" was all he said at first, thinking about how to word his worries. "I don't really know what it meant on the radio. I mean, I get that we are at war with Germany now, but what does that actually mean?" he asked, glancing up at the brunet, hoping to gain some sort of gauge as to how he was feeling about it. He could see that James was considering what he had said, and by the look on his face, he knew about as much as Kendall did. Despite that, he tried to put the blond at ease.

"Whatever it means, just know that I'm still here." He began, placing a small kiss onto Kendall's forehead before continuing. "I don't really know either. I asked my father about it, but even he was unsure. It's a new situation for all of us Kendall, and I'm a little scared as well" he confessed, pulling Kendall slightly closer to him.

With that information being shared between the two of them, they both settled back in silence as they consider what it meant for the two of them.

' _Surely this news wouldn't actually impact their life would it?'_ They both thought, as they tried to live in some sort of blissful naivety, hoping that this wouldn't have an impact of their life. As the two snuggled together, drifting to sleep, they seemed to get closer to each other, James not being able to get the idea out of his mind that this wasn't going to end well for the two of them.

Placing another kiss onto the blond's forehead, James finally let the abyss of sleep consume him.

* * *

It was a few days later when James finally realised that the war would hit closer to home that he thought. It happened when he was called into his father's office late one afternoon, and the looks on his father's face told the brunet he wasn't going to like the news he was going to receive. Taking a seat opposite his father, James finally spoke up.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat.

"Yes" his father breathed out, sighing deeply before continuing. "I received this in the post today, and I thought you'd want to read it. It's um…well" Struggling to find his words, Henry just passed the letter over to James, before rubbing his hands over his face, something James knew was never a good sigh.

The brunet tried to steel himself but as soon as he glanced down at the letter, all that preparation faded when he focused in on one phrase which told him everything he needed to know. Despite the crushing pain he was feeling in his stomach, he read the letter from the start.

' _Mr Diamond,  
_ _With the declaration of war on The Imperial German Government, the United States Government is hereby ceasing all of male servants on Lakefield Estate for their participation in the war._

 _This is not a request, and therefore, we expect the presence of Carlos Garcia, Dak Zevon, Kendall Knight and Reginald Bitters at Oakland Train Station on April 12_ _th_ _. Know that if they do not attend, they will be tried for treason and the punishment for such is death._

 _While we respect the fact that many of these servants may have become acquaintances, know that their service will be for the betterment of the United States._

 _Regards,  
_ _U.S Army'_

James' face paled when he read the full letter, and his thoughts instantly went to the fact that Kendall was being called off to war, and potentially to his death.

"It's…" was all James managed to mutter as he stared at Kendall's name on the slip of paper. His father seemed to remain silent for the moment, allowing the brunet to fully process the information. "What do we do?" James finally asked, although the question was really redundant. There was only one thing that they could do.

"We tell them that they have to be at the train station in three days" Henry replied, causing James' face to tense up. Suddenly a surge of anger swelled through him, and he couldn't help but slam the piece of paper onto the table to try and relieve some of it.

"Surely there is something we can do? You have some influence, surely you can stop them from calling them in" James asked, staring directly at his father, who just let out another sigh at James' words.

"There's nothing we can do James. It's a direct order from the government. You read the letter"

"But we're essentially sending them to die. I mean, think about it. Kendall's only 19, and Carlos and Dak are only 21. They haven't even hit their prime yet and they were going to be called in to fight some war on another continent." James retorted, and he could see the look on his father's face as he spoke. He knew his father felt the same way that he did, and the brunet hoped that if he pushed a little further, then maybe he could get him to crack slightly. "I mean, just think about it. Kendall's only just found somewhere were he is really happy, and now he's being shipped off to fight. I feel responsible for him, and now we have to try and tell him that he has a shoot someone. The poor boy can barely write, let alone pull a trigger" he pushed, and he could see that his father was about to crack. One last sentence would push him over the edge, and James had just that. "Think about his mother and sister. How awful would it be if we had to tell the two of them that Kendall had died? Imagine if you had to tell mother that about me" The brunet finished, finally sitting back down in his seat when his father let out another deep sigh.

"Fine, I'll see what I can do, but only for Kendall since you feel responsible for him" his father said, standing from his seat before continuing. "But you need to tell them that they are being sent off. Nothing is going to stop that fact James, and if you want me to do this for you, then you need to do this for me. I expect it done by the end of the day" James only nodded at his father's request, slightly relieved by the fact that his father would try.

It was clear to James that he'd make the fact that he cares for Kendall clear to his father, but at the moment, the brunet didn't care. All he could focus on was the fact that despite whatever his father could do, Kendall was still going off to war and there was the very real possibility that he wouldn't be returning from it.

* * *

James expected that telling the guys that they were being sent off to war was going to be difficult, but it wasn't until he was in the moment that he finally realised how difficult it was going to be. Bitters, Kendall, Carlos and Dak were currently gathered around the table in the kitchen, and as soon as James walked in, and saw the confused looks on their faces, he knew that it was doing to kill him to do this.

Despite that fact, he knew it needed to be done, but how could he tell him all that they were being sent off to fight? He was snapped out of his internal panic when Dak finally spoke up.

"You wanted to see us sir?" he asked, causing James to nod as the once again swallowed the lump in his throat. James took a few more deep breaths before approaching the table where the four men were sat, and rested himself against the chair at the head of the table as he began to speak.

"I'm guessing by now you all know the news about the war that is happening" he asked, causing them all to nod. He couldn't help but notice how all their faces seemed to pale slightly, almost like they knew what was coming, but he could also see the spark in their eyes, like they were holding out that last little bit of hope. James knew it was going to crush his soul to say the words, but then again, him telling them this was nothing compared to what they would go through.

 _'Not helping'_ He thought to himself, before continuing. "Well, Father got a letter this morning regarding it, and it pains me to inform you that you're…being sent off to fight" As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them, mostly due to the reaction of the four males. They all became deathly pale at the news, and their mouths seemed to hang open in shock.

None of them could process it, especially Kendall, who was currently doing his best not to cry. "Trust me when…" James voice seemed to fade into the background as the news replayed itself over and over again, as James' voice constantly said it as if to taunt him.

The room around him seemed to spin, and a piercing sound seemed to reach his ears as he considered what it meant. And while he wasn't the brightest, this was something that he knew. He was going to be shipped out half way around the world with no one to help him, as he left his mother, sister and dare he say boyfriend, and he was going to be forced to fight against some unknown stranger out of fear for his life. He couldn't run as he could hear James explaining that that would result in death, but surely if he fought then he'd die as well. His hearing seemed to focus when Dak spoke up next to him, and he could tell by his tone that he wasn't pleased by this news as well.

"Wait a second. What about you? I mean, you're the same age as Carlos and me, are you being called off to fight?" Dak asked, causing James to stumble over his words as he tried to reply.

"Well, no but…"

"That's so unfair!" Dak interrupted, pushing himself up from the table as the chair slammed into the floor as it toppled over. "Just because you have a little money, you don't have to fight! I mean, we're expendable right? Send all the peasants off to fight, because there are millions of those, but we can't get the wealthy off, now can we?"

"Hey, it's not my fault!" James shouted back, now standing up straight to show his authority."I didn't decide who got sent off to war, and I certainly don't want any of you to be sent off either! If I could do anything to stop you from going, then I'd do it in a heartbeat, but you can read that letter yourself if you want…" James voice faded into the background again, his ears regaining that high pitch piercing sound as the thoughts returned.

What would happen to his mother and sister. Sure, they would be safe at the estate, but what happened to them if he died? They'd already lost their father, and now they may possible lose Kendall as well. The blond could also feel the blood draining from his head, and despite the fact that James and Dak were involved in a heated argument, he spoke up.

"I don't feel…um…so good" he stuttered, before his vision faded to black and he felt the sensation of his body leaving the chair. Everyone was quick to Kendall's side when they saw him pass out from the chair, with Carlos reaching to get a glass of water for him, while James tried to place his head in between his legs.

"We'll come back to his conversation later" James said to Dak, causing the driver to let out a huff.

"Let's not bother" he replied, noticing how Kendall was starting to mummer. "Now if you'll excuse me, I suppose I should write a will" he continued, before pulling himself off of the floor and making his way into the hall leading to the bedrooms. James just shook his head at the actions of the other brunet, before pulling Kendall into his arms and lifting the blond from the floor.

"Carlos, I believe Kendall will be more comfortable in his room" he started, before grabbing the glass from the Latino. "I just hope that you two know how sorry I am about this. Like I said, it's completely out of my hands, and there is nothing I can do to stop it from happening" he finished, flashing Carlos and Bitters a sad smile before following Dak's previous path back to their rooms.

When he finally arrived at Kendall and Carlos' room, he set the glass down on the table before laying the blond onto his bed and taking Kendall hand into his own. Now that the two of them had a limited amount of time to spend together, James was going to make sure he made the most of it.

* * *

When Kendall finally came too, the first thing he noticed was the fact that he was no longer in the kitchen and out of reflex, he squeezed his hands closed only to feel some resistance in one of them. The wonder he gained was quickly dashed when he heard James' voice speak up. "Oh, thank god you're awake" he said squeezing his hand back to give Kendall to reassurance.

The blond tried to shuffle back in the bed a little bit so that he was resting on the headboard, but when he moved he was overcome with a sense of dizziness and decided it would be best to just remain still. "How long was I out for?"

"About 10 minutes. Here, I got you a glass of water" James replied, removing his hand from Kendall's before placing one around the back of his neck while the other was used to lift the cup. Helping Kendall sit up, James raise the glass to Kendall's lips allowing him to drink from it. Kendall could already feel his strength returned, and shifted back against the headboard, bringing his knees up to his chest.

"I'm scared James" Kendall confessed again, shifting his eyes to look at the brunet. "I thought I'd be less scared when I actually knew what it meant but now that I do, I'm even more scared"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry this has happened to you Kendall. No one deserves to be forced into a situation like that" James replied, as he moved himself from the chair he was sat on to the bed, allowing him to cuddle with Kendall.

"What about my mum and Katie. What's going to happen to them?"

"From what I can tell, they will stay here and help out while you go"

"Will you look after them for me?" Kendall asked, looking at James once again. This time, the brunet could truly see the fear that Kendall was exhibiting, and in that moment, it was the first time that he truly felt powerless.

"Of course I will. But only till you return"

"If I return" Kendall mumbled under his breath causing James to squeeze him tighter.

"You will return Kendall, I promise you will" the brunet replied, as he tried to push the tears from his eyes. Silence loomed over the two as the weight of the situation finally settled in once again, and when James felt Kendall begin to shake in his arms as the tears fell, the brunet pulled him in closer, to try and provide some more assurance.

Of course, James could reassure Kendall as much as he wanted that everything would be ok, but both of them knew that once Kendall left, anything could happen.

Including their worst fears.

* * *

The next few days around the estate were definitely sombre ones, and there was very little that could be done to help that. The four males being sent off spent most of their time thinking about the impending change that was going to hit their lives, and every time the thought crossed the blond's mind, tears came flooding back.

As expected, the news hadn't gone down well with Jennifer and Kate, but there was nothing that could be done to stop it. If Kendall didn't go to fight, he'd be tried and executed for desertion, but if he went and fought then the same was almost guaranteed.

The only light in the dark during this time was the news that Henry had for James. It had cost him a lot of his favours, but Henry had followed through on his promise to James and had managed to get Kendall a somewhat better position. Instead of a soldier, Kendall would keep his position as a stable boy, helping to ready the horses for whatever job was required to them.

And while the news was better than nothing, it finally solidified that this was going to happen whether they wanted it too or not and that no matter their influence or wealth, Kendall, Dak, Carlos and Bitters were going to be sent off.

When the 12th finally dawned over the estate, no one was ready to say goodbye, but it had to happen. The servants all said a toast in the kitchen, wishing them all good luck before James came to collect them all. He definitely felt like the bearer of bad news these past few days, but since he had offered to drive them all down to the station, he knew it was expected.

As they all climbed into the car, Kendall began to memorise every inch of the house and the grounds it sat on. This was definitely his happy place, and he wanted a perfect image of it for when times got hard. As they drove through the gates for what could very well be their last time, Kendall couldn't help the tear that came to his eye, and this time he didn't even try to stop if from falling.

With the house out of sight, Kendall turned to his other happy place, now trying desperate to memorise every inch of James that he could knowing that this was where his true happiness lied.

Everything that James had done for the blond was to try and guarantee his happiness, but now all of that could potentially come to an end because of something that they wanted no involvement in.

* * *

The car journey to the train station was too short for Kendall's liking, but as the building loomed over head, they all knew that this was it. The four men climbed out of the car, and grabbed their bag, before turning back to James who was stood sombrely next to them.

"I want to wish you all the best of luck. These are going to be trying times for all of you, but I know that you can do it" the brunet began, before making his way in front of Bitters. "You've been with me since I was a little boy, and I know that you can face anything that is thrown at you" he continued, pulling Bitters into a hug when he had finished. Bitters returned the hug, somewhat awkwardly and when they pulled out, Bitters gave him one last goodbye before making his way over to registry.

Next, James turned to Dak. "I am sorry about all of this Dak, and know if there was anything I could have done to stop it, I would have"

"I know sir" Dak replied, flashing James a sad smile. "I'm sorry about everything I said the other day. I was just shocked by the news and I took it out on you" he continued, before pulling James into a hug as they exchanged goodbyes. When they finished, Dak followed Bitters' lead and when to register, leaving James to speak to Carlos next.

"You've truly made these last few years enjoyable Carlos, and I thank you for that. You've been there for me when I needed to talk to someone, and when I've badgered you for food" James tried to joke, and while it did receive a small chuckle from Carlos, he knew that it had fallen short. "Good luck" James muttered into Carlos' ear as they hugged, and when the Latino left, James was left with the most difficult goodbye he would have to face.

Instead of saying anything, he just wrapped his arms around Kendall, causing the blond to snuggle into him. "I'm going to miss you" James muttered, as he felt the tears well up in his eyes.

"I'm going to miss you as well. You were my first real friend, and now you're my first real boyfriend" Kendall mumbled back, keeping his tone quiet so no one would hear him as he cried into James' chest.

"Come on, train's leaving soon!" the registry guy shouted, but both of them refused to separate as they wanted this moment to last forever. If only to add to the torture of their separation, Kendall knew that this could be the last chance to tell James how he truly felt, and he definitely wasn't going to waste it. Taking another deep breath, Kendall spoke up again.

"James" he said, causing the two of them to lock eyes, each glistening with tears. "I love you" the words causing James to pull Kendall in any tighter if that were even possible, as he began to sob.

"I love you as well. So much" James replied, as he discretely placed a kiss onto Kendall's forehead.

"Alright come on! The train is leaving!" the registry guy screamed once again, and this time, the two of them finally separated, James brushing himself down as if to try and make himself look a little more presentable.

"Stay safe" he said, Kendall giving him one last nod before finally turning and walking over to the registry man. With the two of them exchanging information, James watched as Kendall made his way over the train, wiping the tears from his eyes every time he saw Kendall glance over his shoulder.

Before Kendall stepped onto the train, he took one glance at James, and with the brunet knowing that this could be the last glimpse they could ever see of each other, he fell back onto one of his old tricks, winking at the blond. That action caused a few more tears to make their way into his eyes.

The last James saw of Kendall was the blond stepping onto the train and disappearing into one of the carriages. As the whistle of the train sounded, and the vehicle began to pull out of the station, James couldn't help the tears that forced their way from his eyes. Much like Kendall when James had left the estate, James' prevailing thought was what if he never saw the blond again. Little did he know that Kendall was thinking the exact same thing as he watched the city of Oakland pass by him.

The train had once brought happiness to Kendall, so the blond thought it was only fair that it was the train that took it away as well.

* * *

 **So yeah, there we have it. War has descended, and they have been separated! I have had this planned since they very beginning, hence why I set it in 1917, and now that it is happening, I've been writing like mad. Of course, it's sad times for Kendall and James who have been ripped apart from each other, and to make it so much worst, I had to make Kendall tell James he loved him before he was shipped away! At least Kendall isn't going to be a soldier however, so take that for what you will.**

 **I just want to say quickly that I don't know a whole lot about the First World War, so I have been doing a lot of research while writing this to try and make it authentic as possible. That is no joke, I mean, if I spend a day writing I will usually have like 10 tabs open on chrome, to try and figure out what is actually correct and whatnot. But that being said, if anything is wrong, then feel free to let me know, as I 'm always up for learning, but in the sense of the story, I'm going to but it down to it being an alternate universe. Like I said when I first started this story, that means I can't be wrong haha 😜**

 **So, I want to give a massive thank you to Winterschilld11, Guest, RainbowDiamonds and Loganlover96 for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm glad you all liked Kendall protecting James from Jett, and that was definitely fun to write! I did however change that scene multiple times, and I originally had it so that Kendall was attacking Jett after pulling him off James, but I think it works better with Kendall playing the victim to piss Jett off further! Let me know what you think of this separation, as well as what is going to happen next!**

 **I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Love, James, but until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	17. Chapter 17: Camp Wiltshire

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So, here we are beginning the WW1 story line, and I am super excited to share it with you all, so I won't keep you any longer!**

* * *

To Kendall's somewhat relief, he found out that he wasn't being shipped straight off to war but instead to the East Coast, or at least that's what the sign told him as they pulled to a stop in a place called Camp Wiltshire in South Carolina. Everyone on the train was quickly disembarked and forced to stand in a line, with a what Kendall considered to be a very angry man staring at them.

After about 6 days on the train, factoring in all the stops they had to make to pick more people up, Kendall would have usually been ready to get off and stretch his legs due to slightly claustrophobia, as James would say, but at the moment, the blond really wanted to turn around and jump back on that train. 6 days would be nothing if he got to see James again, and he'd make that decision in a heartbeat. Alas, his somewhat depressive yet optimistic thoughts were broken when the angry man in front of them began to speak. Well, it was more of a shout, but still.

"Alright ladies! Welcome to Camp Wiltshire, your home for the next ten weeks!" the man began, and Kendall couldn't help but stare at him, probably due to the excessive amount of fear he felt as the man paced up and down. "I am your commanding officer, Commander Peterson, and while you are on this camp, you will be given you're basic training so that you imbeciles have some sort of understanding for when you arrive Liverpool in eleven weeks. From there, you will receive more training before you are finally shipped off to face the bastards in Germany!" the commander continued to shout, now stopping what, to Kendall seemed, right in front of him. "You are among the lucky few that will have the pleasure of being the first group of Americans to fight those bastards!" Kendall heard a few cheers coming from the crowd, but he definitely wasn't among them. Like he had said before, if it wasn't for this crowd of people stood behind him, and the certainly of death, he would be straight back onto that train. "But first, report to the Lieutenant that is stood in front of your section. They will assign you a barrack, and I expect you to report to them immediately and wait. Someone will be along to collect you and start your test! Now scuttle you little ants!" the commander finally finished, saluting at everyone which caused a mass panic in the crowd. Some hands went flying up in order to return the salute, but most of it was a mass panic of arms, trying to figure out what to do. "PATHETIC!" The commander properly shouted this time, and even though he wasn't, Kendall felt like the man was just speaking to him alone causing shudders to take over his body.

He wasn't alone in this apparently as he saw a few people around him do a similar thing as they watched the Commander walk off. As soon as the commander was out of sight, Kendall felt a wave of people hit him from all around, as they rushed towards the lieutenants in order to get their barrack assignments. The blond tried to remain strong and hand his ground, but he couldn't help the little stumbles that happened when someone barged into the back of him. Knowing that it was a lost cause, Kendall joined into the crowd, as he made his way to the lieutenant.

It was a bit disorientating, with names, numbers and letters being said from every direction but all he could do was wait. Eventually, he made it to the front of the wave, well pushed would be more accurate, and when the lieutenant glanced up at him, he suddenly became a lot more nervous.

"Name" the man said plainly, causing Kendall to follow the lump that had before in this throat before he spoke.

"Kn-Knight. K-K-Kendall Knight" the blond finally managed to say, watching the lieutenants as he rolled his eyes before sliding his finger down the list of names. After a couple page turns, his name was finally found.

"Oh, a pony boy!" the lieutenant said first, causing a few chuckles from the men around Kendall. A blush crept onto the blond's face, as he suddenly became very embarrassed when the lieutenant spoke up again. "You're in Barrack 2J pony boy! Better giddy up and gallop over there" he said, causing the men to chuckle once again, as Kendall pushed his way through the crowd to get out of their as fast as possible.

While the blond wasn't sure what he was expecting, this certainly seemed to match up with it. After 6 days on the train, he knew that he was going to have to deal with a load of 'macho' men, but he was at least expecting there to be one person that would be nice to him. So far it was just a load of pricks and assholes, constantly belittling him in any way that they could.

With a deep breath, the blond began his search for his barrack, as his mind focused back onto James, remembering how the brunet was always there to try and boost him back up.

* * *

Kendall felt like he was walking around for at least 15 minutes before he finally found his barrack, although he thought that's what happens when they all look the same; rectangular and made of wood. When he finally made his way inside, he noticed a bunch of guys were gathered around one bed, and as soon as he heard what they were talking about, he knew that he wanted no part of it.

"I don't know why we need training, I just want to get out there and shoot some of the bastards" One guy said, causing a resounded cheer to occur from the others. Kendall couldn't help but roll his eyes at their conversation as he found an unoccupied bed and sat down on it while shoving his bag under it. The guys chatting seemed completely oblivious to this presence and as they continued to speak, Kendall took a good look in at his surroundings. There must have been at least 20 beds in the room, each with a small trunk at the end of the beds to store their belongings in. There seemed to be a window above every other bed, allowing the barrack a sufficient amount of light, although it felt darker than it did at the Diamonds, and he also took note of the uniforms that hung next to each bed. Each part of the uniform was a brown canvas-esque colour, and included was an undershirt, a jacket, a pair of khakis and a pair of brown combat boots in order to accompany them. After taking in the uniform, Kendall turned to the trunk at the end of his bed, curious to see if that included anything as well, and to his amusement, it did. The blond began to rummage through the equipment, noticing stuff like a gas mask, a torch, a portable water bottle and some medical stuff like bandages and plasters. As Kendall shut his trunk, it seemed to gain the attention of his fellow bunk mates, and as soon as one recognised him, they were quick to speak.

"Hey, it's pony boy!" he said, causing the others to stop and look at him, wry smiles growing on their faces.

"Pony boy!" Another one seemed to say, as the group of them proceeded to get up and move over to his bed. This caused the blond to roll his eyes at their annoyance, but he couldn't help himself as he moved back on the bed slightly, as if to retreat back to the wall.

"Why do they call you pony boy anyway? Did you fuck a horse or something?" the first guy asked, causing the others to laugh around him.

"No, why would anyone do that?" Kendall responded, causing the first guy to shrug.

"Some people are into fucked up things. Like guys!" he added, causing the snickering in the group to continue as Kendall tried his best not to look hurt or offended. "Anyway, you didn't answer my question pony boy, why'd they call you that?" he asked again, Kendall pulling himself back a little further in a hope to get away.

"Probably because I've been assigned to look after the horses" Kendall mumbled, hoping that it was enough to cause the guys to back away. Instead he felt one of them push his shoulder back as the mocking began.

"What, are you too pussy to fight?"

"Pony boy's a coward!"

"I bet pony boy can't even hold a gun!" The comments seemed to come at the blond, and with everything being said, he couldn't seem to get a word in edge ways. That, and the fact that the guys had started to push him in order to mock him further when he tried to fight back but ultimately failed. As the door swung shut once again, Kendall expected the next lot of guys to start the ridicule as well, and that only worsened when the felt the shadow loom over him.

Ready to accept his fate, Kendall tried to pull himself into the fetal position as the voice spoke up.

"What the hell is going on here?" the deep voice asked, with one of the guys being quick to respond.

"This coward is too scared to fight. Instead he's dealing with the horses" he replied, Kendall readying himself for ridicule once again, except this time, it didn't come.

"So? We all have roles to play, and I bet you wouldn't be ridiculing him when a horse he prepared saves your life" the voice spoke up, Kendall glancing up to see his saviour as he placed his hand onto the other guys shoulder. His saviour yanked on the other guys shoulder, pulling him away from Kendall as he got in between the two of them. "Now leave him alone. He's just a kid for god sake, yet he's probably ten times the man you are"

"Then why didn't he fight back" another voice spoke up.

"How about we all gang up on you, and you try to fight back, prick. Now, fuck off the lot of ya" his saviour, causing the group of men to grumble as they walked away. The group of people who had just walked in seemed to snicker at the defeat of the other men, and Kendall settled down slightly, knowing that he at least had one friend.

"Thanks" the blond mumbled, finally looking at the other guy properly. He was huge, both in terms of height and in what Kendall assumed to be muscle.

"No worries kid, it's not fair for them to be picking on you like that" he replied, before moving to the unoccupied bed next to Kendall's and placing his bag under it. "Name's Freight Train" the big guy said, causing Kendall to raise his eyebrow at him.

"Freight Train?" Kendall asked with curiosity in his voice, causing the big guy to chuckle.

"That's right."

"How'd you end up with a name like that?"

"I grew up by the tracks, with a group of vagrants in Kentucky. When I was old enough, I started working at the station, shoving coal into the tender as well as any other job that required heavy lifting, and the name kinda stuck. What about you kid. What you're name, and where you from?"

"Kendall, and I'm originally from Wichita, but I've been working out in California" Kendall replied, causing Freight Train to raise his eyebrow in return.

"That's a big move, and I bet there's a story behind it. I'd love to hear it" He replied, causing Kendall to chuckle.

"Well, get settled because it's a long one." The blond replied, pulling the pillow from behind him so that he could rest against the wall as he spoke.

The rest of the evening was filled with Kendall and Freight Train starting stories about their lives, and while Kendall kept out some personal information, like him and James being together, he was surprised to find how honest they were being with each other.

* * *

The only time it seemed Kendall was allowed to leave the barracks that night was when they heard a bell being rung in the distance, as well as the someone shouting the word 'Dinner' at the top of their lungs. Everyone was quick to jump up from the beds they were perched on, making their way out of one to the two doors in the barracks. Stepping outside for what felt like the first time in days, the blond was sure to take in a deep breath as he took in the sight of the camp.

With the sun setting in the distance, the place seemed to gain a glow from all of the lights that had been switched on, and Kendall couldn't help but notice the clear lack of space on this side of base. The barracks were closely packed together, in order for the base to maximise the number of soldiers they could have, as well as have more room for practise, and that thought alone made Kendall begin to feel claustrophobic once again. Luckily, Freight Train was with him in order to help him get through it.

"Come on, let's go get some grub. I'm starving" the larger male said, Kendall nodding in response as the two of them began to walk towards the sound of the bell and the shouting. When they finally reached the mess hall, it seemed that the only thing that separate it from the barracks was the size of the building, but other than that, it used the same building materials and followed the same pattern. To some extent, Kendall found this slightly disconcerting, especially after living with the Diamonds for a while.

Back on the estate everything seemed to be unique, and even though some of the buildings, like the stable and the main house, were built out of the same materials they never followed the same pattern making it easy to distinguish them. Here however, everything seemed so bland and constant causing Kendall to feel like he was trapped. As the blond made his way inside and towards the serving area, he couldn't help but survey the room. He hadn't seen Carlos, Dak or Bitters since Oakland Station and he was wondering where all of them were, or whether they were all here. There was a lot of stops along his journey here, and it wouldn't surprise him if they had been separated, with them being sent to a different training camp.

As the queue continued to move, Kendall continued to keep an eye out until it was his turn to get served. The blond placed his tray down onto the metal bars which lined the serving area and he took notice of all of the food that was to offer. A lot of it was either beige, lumpy and completely unappealing or sat in a layer of grease and the blond had to try his hardest not to gag as he caught wind of the smell.

"What's that?" Kendall asked, pointing to one of the dishes on display.

"Canned meat" the server replied before dishing some up onto his plate as well as a scoop of what Kendall assumed to be mashed potatoes. "Next!" The server shouted, causing Kendall to hurry along as he grabbed a cup of water that was also out on display.

The blond waited for Freight Train to finish being served before the two of them headed to a table. The whole time, Kendall kept his eye out in case he caught a glimpse of anyone that he knew as they sat down, he finally accepted that the chance of that happening would be very slim. Sighing, Kendall glanced down at the food on his tray once again and began to pick at it with his fork.

 _'Carlos would never cook anything like this'_ he thought to himself as he scooped some potato and meat onto his fork and took a bite. He had to suppress a gag as he chewed on the food, noticing how it tasted of everything and nothing at the same time. The meat seemed very tough to chew, yet it dissolved in his mouth as he ate it and at one point, the blond was sure he bit something solid, yet when he searched for it with his tongue, he couldn't seem to find it.

For the first time in his life, Kendall had the thought that maybe not eating was actually better for him, and it was at that point when a wave of sadness passed over him as he knew that this was what he had been reduced too.

* * *

When they returned to the barrack that night, they were told that it was lights out since they had an early start the next day. Since the blond was no stranger to an early start, he began to strip out of his main set of clothes, but when he suddenly felt self-conscience, he settled for sleeping in his underwear as well as a t-shirt in order to provide him some sort of cover besides his duvet.

As the barrack was plunged into darkness, Kendall began to shuffle on his bed as an attempt to get comfortable but no position he got into felt that at all. Rolling onto his side, facing Freight Train's bed, the blond couldn't help the tears that fled to his eyes and as quietly as he could, the blond began to sob. His thoughts were running a hundred miles an hour as he thought about everyone and everything he had left behind. His first thoughts went to his mother and sister, wondering how they were coping, knowing that the blond was going to be sent off into a dangerous situation which he had no control over.

It was similar to when he had first travelled out to California and while the thought did bring a tear to his eye, the main different this time was that the blond knew that his family were safe. James had promised to look after them in his absence, and he knew that the brunet would be true to his word. What probably upset him the most was the fact that this time, he truly had no way to contact them. While he had started to learn how to write with James, he still had no clue what he was doing by himself, and it wasn't as if his family could write to him as they didn't have a clue where he was.

His thoughts then seemed to shift onto James, and that caused the tears to fall at an accelerated rate. Kendall could imagine himself wrapped in James' arm as they cuddle in the summer house or even the feel of James' lips against his during their study sessions and the blond wanted to return to that time so bad. To a time where they were both happy. James' voice seemed to sound through his ears and the first thing they seemed to replay was James reciting the alphabet to the blond. "A B C D" the melodic voice began to say, Kendall closing his eyes as the memory became to replay in his mind. The blond was sat on the sofa in James' study, watching as James pointed to the letter he had marked on the chalk board.

With a sniffle, and a quick wipe of his eyes, the blond began to mutter the alphabet to himself as if to hold onto it. To Kendall, it felt like that was the only piece of home he still had with him, and he'd be damned if he was going to let go of it so soon.

* * *

 **So, there we have it! Kendall has been shipped to South Carolina for his training, and he's already finding being away from James and his family difficult. He's also been picked on by a few people already, but luckily Freight Train were there to help him!**

 **I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest, RainbowDiamonds and LoganLover96 for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm glad to see that I surprised most of you with the reveal! I've had this planned since the beginning of the story, so it's safe to say that I'm excited to finally get to it! You all seemed heartbroken by it though, and I have to admit, while writing this whole story arc, even I teared up a few times!**

 **I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Love, James, but until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	18. Chapter 18: Training

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So, as you can probably tell from chapter title, this chapter will be about the training that Kendall receives at Camp Wiltshire. I will quickly say now that I know nothing about army training, so this is my best approximation of it. Still, I think it turned out well, hence why this chapter is longer than my usual ones! Anyway, I'm rambling again, so let's crack on!**

* * *

"Alright, you lazy gits, it's time to get up!" the lieutenant shouted as he walked in, and accompanying his shouting was a metallic banging of two objects, causing Kendall to jump slightly as he woke up. He looked around the room, spotting that everyone else had done a similar thing to him before finally turning his attention back to the lieutenant who was holding two pans which he was banging together. "I said get up! Stand next to your bed soldiers" he shouted, banging the two pans together again causing a resounding groan to rattle throughout the room. "And drop the attitude! This is the army not a fucking beauty salon, ladies!"

Kendall was among the first to pull himself out of the bed, and stand next to it, hoping it would avoid him anymore ridicule. And while Kendall was used to getting up early, he certainly didn't appreciate the banging or the shouting that now accompanied it. He'd much rather have the sound of Carlos' alarm clock and that caused the blond to sigh, as he thought back to how he used to consider that item annoying.

It took about 5 minutes for everyone to finally get themselves out of bed, with some stubborn guys deciding that the rules didn't apply to them. They were met with the pans banging together right next to their ears and Kendall was grateful that he didn't have to suffer like that.

"Right, listen up ladies. I'm Lieutenant Stevenson and for the next week, I will be your handler for all of the tests that you are going to be put through. I'm not going to lie to you ladies, it's not going to be easy but if you want to prove that you are man enough for this, you will complete them all."

"And what if we're not?" a voice from the other side of the barrack asked, causing Stevenson to step right into the face of the guy who said it.

"What's that cadet?"

"What if we're not man enough" he replied, causing Stevenson to growl at him.

"What if we're not man enough sir!" Stevenson replied, Kendall noticing how some of his spit landed on the other guys mouth from when he spoke. "And to answer your question, the only reason that you are here is because we think you can be man enough. The registry officers at your home train station would have turned you away if they didn't think that you were" he replied, before finally pulling away from the cadet, as he began to pace up and down in the barrack. "That being said, your first tests for today will be medical in order to make sure that you can continue. If you cannot, you will be put to work elsewhere." That sentence caused Kendall to have a small spark of inspiration, with the blond thinking that if he could somehow fail the medical test, then maybe he wouldn't be sent off to war. "However, all of you in this barrack are going to be sent off to the front lines, whether it be as a soldier or as a person who removes the bodies from the trenches, so don't you even think about trying to fake your results. If we find out you have tampered with them, you'll be tried for cowardice. Now get dressed ladies and get your arses outside!"

* * *

As Kendall sat in the medical examiners room, he wasn't quite sure what to expect. The blond has never had a medical examination before and while a small part of him was curious to see what it would entail; a much larger part was horrified to find out. As the blond at the edge of the bed, he glanced around to see all sorts of equipment that he didn't have a clue about. Finally, after working himself up and getting himself paranoid, the doctor walked in and didn't know whether to panic more or breath out a sigh of relief.

"Name" the doctor said as he walked over the small desk at the side of the room, grabbing a pen and a piece of paper as he did so.

"Kendall Knight sir" the blond replied, the doctor noting down what he said.

"Age"

"19 sir" Kendall replied, causing the doctor to chuckle

"No need to call me sir" he began, before turning to Kendall and standing up from his desk. "I need you to undress down to your underwear" the man stated, causing Kendall to raise an eyebrow at him as he became slightly embarrassed. "I need to inspect you" the doctor replied, causing Kendall to nod as he slowly began to strip out of his clothes. The whole time, the blond was completely red with embarrassment, and he was so grateful that he couldn't be seen from any of the windows. The last thing he needed was to have people staring at laughing at him through the window.

"Now stand still. I need to measure your height and chest side" the doctor mumbled, causing Kendall to nod as the doctor pulled out a measuring tape and got to work. Kendall could hear the doctor mumbling to himself as he worked, saying things like "5 ft 9, average" which Kendall took as his height and "33 inch chest, again average" and the blond was starting to feel a little more comfortable with himself every time the doctor said the word average, as he knew that he wasn't a complete outcast.

"Right, arms up!" the doctor said, as he grabbed the blond's arms and forced them into the air, as if to say that Kendall wasn't capable of doing it himself. Kendall remained in that position was the doctor began to circle the blond, staring at his body as he did so. "No blemishes or visible deformities. Take a seat on the bed, and we'll check your eyesight next" the doctor said, causing Kendall to nod.

The tests seemed like they lasted for hours, with the doctor going over and checking every single part of the blond, even parts that he didn't realise needed testing. After checking his eye sight, the doctor moved onto is hearing as well as asking Kendall to hop up and down the room on one foot in order to test his 'motor functions' or whatever the doctor called it. After that, the doctor placed a weird sleeve onto his arm and began to pump it, causing it to close around it. The blond tried to remain calm much like the doctor hold him to do, and after a few moments, the machine was removed again, and Kendall was asked to stand on a set of weighing scales in order to determine his weight.

The doctor said this time that the blond was a little under average but that it was nothing to worry about. Much to Kendall's disarray, the doctor then had to perform some invasive tests which Kendall wished he had some warning about. He had to strip out of his underwear and watched as the doctor began to scrutinise every part of hi body once again. After those tests were finishes, the doctor told Kendall to redress, something that the blond quick to do, before he was sat at the edge of the bed once again.

"Well, you are perfectly healthy although I would advise trying to put some weight on if anything. You are free to go Mr Knight" the doctor said, nodding to Kendall as the blond made way out of the door, where he was told to return to his barrack. Kendall was torn in two by the results because while he was happy that he was completely healthy, there was another small part of him that finished the doctor would have found something wrong with him.

Now, there was absolutely no way that the blond was going to return to the Diamond Estate, without first seeing war.

* * *

With the medical examinations being completed for that barrack in a day, Lieutenant Stevenson woke them up early the next morning, ready to greet them with the next big announcement.

"Listen up then ladies" he began, pacing up and down the barracks as each of the cadets stood next to their beds. This time as soon as the shouting and banging had begun, everyone pulled themselves out of bed and did as the lieutenant wanted. It was probably because they didn't want to have to listen to the banging of the pans, and Kendall certainly couldn't blame them for that. "Today begins your physical training, in which we expect you to do your best! Everyone will be given the same tasks, and no matter how long it takes, you will complete them, even if it means you have to skip meals to do so! Now get dressed!" Stevenson shouted, everyone once again scrambling to do as he said. This time, there was no delay in getting dressed and before long, everyone was gathered outside waiting for the next set of instructions. "Ok, ladies, follow me!" Stevenson replied, Kendall rolling his shoulders back to stretch as he followed the instruction.

It seemed like they were walking for about 20 minutes, Kendall watching as the camp passed by him. Some cars passed him, followed by ridicule by the soldiers as they mocked the cadets and they were also passed by horse drawn carriages carrying various supplies and equipment that Kendall has never seen before. His eyes were drawn away from those when he heard a buzzing sound coming from above him, and when he looked up, he was greeted with the sight of a few airplanes flying overhead and the blond couldn't take his eyes off of them. He'd heard about the invention of the vehicle only 14 years prior, but he had never seen one actually in flight before. It seemed that many of his fellow cadets were the same, each one of them looking up at the sight of it.

"I heard that they can't fly over the ocean. They have to be assembled in Europe if we want to use them" one cadet said, causing a mumble to occur over to group.

"Cadets! Back in formation!" The lieutenant shouted, regaining their attention once again as they got back into the double file line they were walking in before, but the conversation about the aircraft still continued, though only through mutters and whispers. When the group finally arrived at their location, Kendall was greeted to a view of a field with a lake at the end of it and his mind instantly went back to the Diamond's estate, as he imagined him and James walking down to the summer house for some privacy. The blond also took notice of the backpacks that they were stood behind, and he gained a small churning in his gut as he guessed what was coming up.

"Cadets, your first test will be one of stamina. Out on the the battlefield, it will be expected that you can travel for miles with all your equipment without tiring so today we are going to test that. In front of you is a rucksack containing everything that you will be carrying out in war. We are going to walk down to the lake, around it and then back to this position. Is that understood?" the lieutenant asked, causing the group to nod. Kendall took note of the smug look the lieutenant had on his face as he ordered them all to start.

The group reached down for the bag, and as soon as they tried to lift it, Kendall could see quite a few people struggling to do so. The blond himself had issues lifting it and once it was placed on his back, he finally began to realise how difficult this would actually be. With Freight Train at his side, the two of them began the loaded march, keeping each other occupied as they did so.

By the time the blond had reached the lake, he needed to stop in order to gain some of his breath back, and he wasn't surprised when he noticed that most of the other cadets had done the same.

"Come on kid, the quicker we do it, the quicker we can rest" Freight Train said from beside him, the older male only slightly out of his breath due to his side and build, and with reluctance Kendall nodded as the two of them set off again. He found that as he was walking, he kept having to shift the bag on his back as he could constantly feel something digging into him.

"You'd think they'd try to make these things more comfortable if we have to walk with them" Kendall said, causing Freight Train to chuckle.

"I think that's part of the test. It's not going to be comfortable when we're out at war" he replied, causing Kendall to nod.

"I suppose so. But I still don't get why I have to do this training, I'm not going to fight"

"I'm guessing its basic training that everyone has to do, whether you're fighting or not. If something goes wrong out there, I suppose they want you to be prepared for whatever you might face. Besides, it'll be useful to know how to fire a gun in a warzone" Freight Train commented, causing Kendall to huff slightly as he tried to take in some more air, but also due to the fact that he was annoyed by Freight Train's comment.

The two of them finally made it back to the starting position after what left like a good 2 hours of walking, if not more to find that about three quarters of the squad were already there. That calmed Kendall's nerves slightly, knowing that he definitely wasn't the slowest person there, yet he also wasn't one of the best. Much like the doctor had said 'average.' The blond was panting as he finally stood still, and after all of that movement, he felt like his legs were going to collapse out from under him, but out of fear of humiliation the blond remained strong as he waited for the rest of his squad to arrive, silently praying that they would take their sweet time.

When the last few stragglers finally arrived, Kendall had managed to gain a little bit of his energy back, but he knew that it wouldn't be sufficient for the next activity that they were going to be set. With that being thought, Stevenson stood in front of them once again, and Kendall tried to suppress a groan as he began to speak.

"That was the most miserable attempt I've ever seen cadets!" he began, and this time Kendall was grateful to know that he wasn't the only person who wanted to groan as one slipped out from in the midst of the group. "And we will continue to do this every single day for the next ten weeks so that by the time you are shipped out, you may have a chance at survival!"

 _'Comforting'_ Kendall thought to himself, as Stevenson continued to speak.

"Now, drop and give me 20 cadets! And if you stop or fall, you'll have to start again!" he continued, watching as the cadets reached for their rucksacks. "Did I say take the bags off? No! Now drop down and give me 20!"

* * *

Training of this manor continued for about a week, and Stevenson wasn't lying when he said that he was doing to make the cadets do this every day. As the days progressed, Kendall found himself struggling to get out of bed due to the ache his muscles were feelings, so when it finally hit Saturday at the camp, there was a small part of Kendall which hoped they'd be given a rest.

Yet, when Stevenson came in with his pans and shouting early in the morning, Kendall's hope depleted.

"Good news Cadets, today you won't be doing the run!" Stevenson began his news with, causing everyone else to let out a sigh of relief, while Kendall held some scepticism.

 _'Surely it's not as easy as that it is?'_ The blond thought to himself as he watched Stevenson pace up and down the barrack like he usually did.

"Instead, you will be tackling something different. Out on the battlefield you don't know what type of terrain you will be forced to trek through and even fight on, so today you will be undertaking a specially designed assault course. Now, get dressed cadets!" the lieutenant shouted, saluting the barrack this time causing everyone to quickly salute back before turning to get changed.

Kendall was somewhat excited about the news he'd received, mostly because it meant that he wouldn't have to run around that horrendous lake, but there was also a small part of him that knew this assault course would put them through their paces. Dressed and ready, the squad made their way through the base and towards their activity for today, Kendall taking in his surrounding once again. As usual, there were many other groups of cadets that were walking around the base and each time he passed one of them, he would always look out in case Carlos, Dak or even Bitters were a part of it. By this point, it was his sixth day on the base and he still had yet to see them so the possibility that they weren't there was very high.

Still, the blond tried to hold out hope that he could be reunited with his friends again. When the squad arrived at said obstacle course, Kendall's eyes were glues to it as he surveyed what he would have to do. From what he could see, there was a brick wall that they could have to climb over, a large net that they would have to climb up, and another net that they would have to crawl under in the mud. The rest of the course disappeared into a wooded area, and Kendall could only wonder what was involved in there. Lining up in front of the course, the lieutenant gave them their instructions.

"It is possible for you all to complete this course in less than ten minutes. So, for every one person who takes longer than that, the squad will be punished with 10 press ups. Do I make myself clear?" Stevenson asked, causing everyone to nod as he reached for his whistle. Blowing into the object hard, the group ran at the sound it created, before diving under the net and into the mud as part of their first challenge.

With a group of twenty people trying to crawl under said net, it was difficult for them to do. Kendall was in constant fear that the person in front of him would kick him in the face, and that he could kick the person behind him in the face, so his actions were slow and trepidatious. When that part of the course was completed, his clothes now being covered in mud, Kendall made a run for the brick wall that they would need to climb over next. As he reached the object, he jumped hoping to be able to grab onto the top of it in order to pull himself up. Instead, he just missed it unable to get a grip onto the wall.

"Here, I'll boost you up" Freight Train said from behind the blond, causing Kendall to smile as he took the older male's help. Kendall placed his foot into the hold Freight Train had created in his hand, and used it to climb onto the wall, straddling it as he dropped one leg over.

"Here" Kendall said, reaching down to offer Freight Train his hand.

"You sure boy?" Freight Train joked, causing Kendall to chuckle as he tried to help the large male over the wall. Freight Train took Kendall hand into his own, while placing the other into the top of the wall and hoisted himself up and over the wall, helping Kendall to get down onto the other side.

"Blondie and Big Guy nice teamwork!" Stevenson shouted, causing a small smile to grace Kendall's face as the two men ran towards the next obstacle which was the net that they had to climb up and over. From then on, the two of them helped each other whenever they could, finding that they were completing it a lot easier than anyone else way. As they got into the forest, they were greeted with other particularly muddy section, but this time there was a climbing frame overhead of it, meaning that they had to use the monkey bars to cross it. Kendall knew that this would be challenging for him, as over the course of this week he'd learnt that he didn't have the best upper body strength, but he gave it a shot anyway. The blond managed to get about half way across before he dropped into the mud, causing a few of the other guys on the frame to laugh.

"What's up Pony boy? Too weak to support your own weight?" one of the guys said, gaining a resounding about of laughter from the others. Instead of trying to respond, Kendall instead ignored then, as he dragged himself through the mud once and towards the other side. To Kendall's somewhat relief, there wasn't much beyond the climbing frame, with them having to pass over a rope bridge before they could finally return to Stevenson, and when they did, they noticed that they were among the first to return back to him. Kendall watched as the rest of the recruits finished the course, and ran back to their initial starting position, and once everyone was back, Stevenson started shouting again.

"Seven of you too longer than ten minutes, so drop and give me 70!" he shouted, causing a groan to sound throughout the group as they all did as they were said. "And don't think about blaming the last people back, as you are all responsible for this! The key to completing this assault course is team work, and I only saw two of them exhibiting this. Out in the war, you need to be able to work well as a team as your survival may very well be in someone else's hands. Trust is important, and you need to know you can reply on people as much as they need to know they can rely on you!"

* * *

It was from that moment on that Kendall started to notice some changes in the squad as everyone tried to follow the lieutenant's advice. But it seemed to have the opposite affect that what Kendall thought it would.

Instead of coming closer together as a unit and helping each other throughout the training, it seems the squad separated into smaller groups. Kendall and Freight Train stuck together, as well as helped out a few others in their squad who they quickly befriended. From then on, the weeks seemed to merge together with Kendall completing the same routine every single day. After being shouted awake by Lieutenant Stevenson, the squad would head out for the run that the Lieutenant insisted that they completed to help work on their stamina, something Kendall would say was improving.

After that, the squad were allowed to get showers and head to the mess hall for breakfast before meeting back up with Stevenson for their firearm training. The lessons had started off with the group learning how to use, fire and store a pistol safely but as the weeks progressed, the weapons got bigger and more power. They moved onto rifles fairly quickly with the lieutenant saying that this would be their main weapon out in the field, and as practise commenced, Kendall found he struggled to aim and shoot the rifle. Sure, his bullet would mostly hit the target but when it did, it was never in a critical area like Stevenson told them to aim for. As practise continued, the ridicule on Kendall's behalf began.

"Look, Pony boy can't even aim the rifle!" One of the cadet's, who Kendall learned was name Ben, began causing his little group to chuckle. Another, who Kendall learned was called George and was a suck up, spoke next.

"Good thing Pony Boy isn't going to fight then. We wouldn't want him in the trenches with us, he'd end up shooting you accidentally" George said, causing the laughter to continue.

"Ignore them" Michael, one of Kendall's new friends spoke up, causing the blond to nod. Instead, he took a deep breath, aimed for the target and as he exhaled squeezed the trigger causing the shot to fire. The bang from the rifle seemed to silence the laughter as they all looked to where Kendall's bullet had gone, only to find it had travelled right through the centre of the target.

"Nice shot Blondie!" Stevenson shouted, causing another small smile to grace Kendall's face as he shot at the target again. Ben, George and the rest of the group began to grumble slightly as they returned to their own targets, Kendall becoming smug at his actions.

The week following that, the group moved onto mortar fire, which Kendall found himself to be quite good at and since then, the ridicule stopped. As the training came to a close, the cadets were taught even more lessons, such as how to disinfect and bandage up a wound in case a nurse wasn't available as well as how to put on his gas mask in a time of crisis. The cadets were told of the gas being used in the war, with their main focus being on mustard gas.

They were taught that if they were expose to it, their skin would burn, their eyes would become very sore and they could begin to vomit, completely incapacitating them, and after that it would be four to five excruciating weeks before they died. That was enough for the cadets to quickly learn how to apply their masks in case the gas was used.

By the time the ten weeks were up, the cadets in the barracks were ready for war, and that thought began to scare Kendall more and more as the days passed because he knew that now his training was over, he was going to have to face the horrors of what he had been taught about.

And for what it was worth, Kendall was sure that no amount of training was actually going to ready him for that.

* * *

 **So there we go, a fast track through Kendall training in the USA, from his first day right up to some of his last. Like I said, I know very little about army training, but I think it works well! So, spoiler alert, but next chapter will be about James, and how everyone is coping back at the estate, so I hope you look forward to that!**

 **I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest, RainbowDiamonds and LoganLover96 for the review, and I was shocked to see all the love for Freight Train! I thought that he was perfect for the role of helping Kendall out, and that definitely shows in this chapter as well! But, like you all said, bless Kendall so much! This is going to be difficult for him but we have to wait and see how it unravels. I want to also quickly add that RainbowDiamonds always seems to guess something that will happen, and although I'm not going to say it directly, I'm sure you can guess what I mean 😜**

 **I will see you guys on Thursday for the next chapter of Love, James, but until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	19. Chapter 19: Confessions

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! Thank you all so much for the support on the last chapter, and I won't keep you waiting for any longer to hear from James!**

* * *

It has been about eleven weeks since the male servants left the estate, and it was safe to say that they still hadn't recovered from their loss. As much as James wanted to say that business as usual went on, he couldn't. There seemed to be a lack of joy and prosperity that was usually there and that was only causing the sombre mood to continue. Jennifer would now prepare the dishes for the meals and while they were still superb in taste, they always seemed to lack the particular flair that Carlos would add to them, and James wasn't even sure who had replaced Dak as the driver as he hadn't left the estate since he had dropped everyone off. Lucy was now in place of Bitters as the head of the servants and while she was also doing a spectacular job, the brunet seemed to miss the presence of his most loyal and long lasting aid.

And that left the one absence that James still couldn't fully comprehend. Camille was back to doing the horses alone and even though he knew that the blond wasn't there, he found himself sub-consciously making his way out to the stables in an attempt to see him. He had started riding a lot more often then he used to, hoping that by riding Fable he could get a small connection back to the blond, but it always ended in tears. James had also found himself spending more time in his office than ever before, knowing that with that room came a load of joyful memories of him and Kendall, despite that fact that it only added to James' depressive mood. Hell, James hadn't even erased the last reading lesson off of the chalk board, with a small part of him thinking that if it stayed, then Kendall could return to him and they could pick up where they left off.

The one major thing that had changed since the guys had left was that James found himself spending his meal times with the servants rather than his own family. He felt like he was at peace when he was sat with them, and while it was awkward at first, they were quick to become accustom to his presence and treat him like one of their own. On some occasions he had also found himself helping out Jennifer in the kitchen and it was safe to say that there was the start of a maternal bond forming between the two of them. So, while everything was tough for James at the moment, he was starting to build a good support structure around himself, and with everyone involved going through the same thing, it made it easier for them to share and comfort each other when times got difficult.

There was one day though where things got a little bit brighter for James.

* * *

The brunet was sat in his study, working on some of his university work when he heard a knock on the door. "Enter" he called out, turning in his seat to see Peggy stood at the door holding a white envelope.

"I have a letter for you sir, it's just arrived" she said, walking over the brunet and passing the letter to James before excusing herself. James glanced down at the envelope, looking at the sloppy writing on the front of it. He found his heart started to beat at an accelerated rate as he grabbed his letter opener and began to undo the seal that was keeping its contents secure.

With the envelope finally breached, James pulled the letter out, to see it was composed of the same writing. James knew for a fact that he had never seen this hand writing before as he would definitely remember it, but the brunet couldn't help but feel like that was something familiar about it. Laying the letter on the desk, the brunet traced his finger along the writing as he read it.

' _Dear James,_

 _I really hope that is the right way to open a letter as this is the first time I have ever written one'_

The first part of the letter caused his heart flutter as something clicked in his brain. Desperate to find out if he was right, the brunet continued to read.

' _So, a friend I've made at my base has been teaching me to write for about an hour every night, since he wanted me to learn ever since I told him about our reading lessons. I told him how much I wanted to surprise you with a letter and he said he would help.'_

The brunet could feel the tears welling in his eyes as his hunch was correct. The sloppy, scribbled writing was Kendall's, and the blond had learnt how to write just so he could surprise James with a letter. The brunet was overcome with joy at the news knowing that he now had some sort of method to communicate with Kendall, yet there was a small part of him that was angered by this, knowing that because of this stupid war, James wasn't the one to teach him and it was because of this stupid war that the two of them were having to send letters to each other in the first place.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he continued to read, no matter how difficult it was for him to decipher the words.

' _Anyway, I thought I'd write to you now because my training in the USA is finally completed and as of tomorrow, I am being shipped off to Europe. I've been told that we will first dock at Liverpool in England where we will receive a little bit more training before we make our way to the front line in France. I don't know where I will be posted, but as soon as I do, I will write you again, so that you will be able to write me back. From what I have been told however, the letters will be read by the camp's superior officer to make sure that they don't contain any sensitive information'_

As James read that bit, he knew what Kendall was getting at. The blond was warning him that he couldn't truly say what he wanted in the letters as that would expose the true nature of the relationship. Continuing to read the letter, James kept an eye out for anything that would secretly alert him to Kendall's true feelings and boy did he find plenty about them.

' _I just want you to know that I am missing the estate very much as well as everyone on it, and I hope you pass that along. The heat has been difficult to deal with here, and sometimes I wish I was at the summer house relaxing. I will also add that while my friend was a good teacher, I still miss the study time I had at the estate and would love for that to continue when I come home. Please tell my mum and sister, as well as anyone else appropriate, that I love them and will write to them as soon as I can._

 _Kendall'_

When James finished reading the letter for the first time, he wiped the tears from his eyes as he read over it again and again, knowing the words were written from his Kendall only for him. He constantly read over the bit about the summer house and the study time, knowing that Kendall was hinting about how much he missed their time together, and that only caused the tears to fall faster.

The brunet moved himself from his desk chair over the sofa, where he laid and clutched the letter close to his chest as he cried, the tears being a mixture of joy and sorrow at what it contained and represented. The brunet wasn't sure how long he stayed in that position for, the only thing he was sure on in that moment was his love for the blond.

* * *

When James felt like he could cry no more, he finally putting away the letter from Kendall, and found himself almost on autopilot as the remainder of the day passed. Most of it was a blur, and as the moon lit the estate, James found himself making his way to one of his most treasured locations, the summer house. The walk through the orchard reminded James of the first time they had sneaked out together, as well as the first time the two of them had kissed, and he found a small smile forming on his face as the memories replayed. He remembered how at first, he froze under Kendall's touch, causing the blond to panic before James dove in again, taking the blond by surprise that time.

As he continued his walk, he also remembered the things he had shared with Kendall, telling the blond what his child hood was like, or what it was like to be rich, and the sincerity and curiosity that the blond showed was one of the things that James missed about Kendall the most. He was also eager to learn new things, whether they be about James or just in general, and he never seemed envious of James and his position. Instead, the blond always seemed grateful for all that he had, never asking for anything more and that made surprising him so much better. The image of James bringing Kendall's family to him flashed across his mind, seeing how excited the blond was to see them again as well as the gratitude he had showed James. As the images and memories replayed, James found the spare key for the summer house and unlocked it, before making his way inside.

The place was exactly the same as how the two of them had last left it, with a few pillows being scattered about the floor, so they could lay on the couch, but that wasn't the first place that James headed to. Instead, the brunet unlocked the French doors that let onto the patio area and stood by the railing as he watched the fish swim by. He couldn't let the opportunity go to waste, with James getting a handful of fish food before throwing it into the lake as he pictured him and Kendall doing the same thing all those months ago. As the brunet looked out to the lake, he didn't expect a voice to speak up from behind him, so when it did, his automatic response was to jump, as he let out a little yelp. Hand on his heart, he turned around to a very embarrassed Camille, who's face was completely red.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" she said, granting him a small smile as he walked back through the patio doors and sat himself on the sofa.

"It's fine. I just wasn't expecting anyone else to be here."

"I couldn't sleep, and I heard the door go, so I thought I'd join you" she replied, sitting on the sofa next to him. Silence seemed to loom over the two for a short while, with them both being deep in thought, and after Camille had made her mind up about what she was going to say, she went for it. "I miss him too you know" she stated, causing James to look over at her, as he tried to stop the tears from welling in his eyes. "And I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you. I know you loved him" That came as a shock to James, as this was the first he'd heard about someone else knowing.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, he responded. "I don't…" he began, causing Camille to shake her head instantly.

"If you're going to say you don't know what I'm talking about, then don't bother. I've watched this bloom since the day he got here, and I can see by the way you look at each other that you love him, and he loves you. I mean, you taught him how to read, I hear you sneak out at night and you brought his family half way across the country" she replied, scooting slightly closer to the brunet as the tears properly fell this time.

"I miss him so much" James replied, getting choked up as he spoke. "He's been gone for eleven weeks and I still can't believe he's gone" This time, Camille pulled him into a hug as she let him cry on her shoulder. A few tears had welled in her eyes as well, but she knew that she had to remain strong.

"He'll be back James, and it will be like he never left. He'll come back and the first person he will want to see is you. Plus, I know he misses you too"

"He wrote to me today" the brunet cried, causing Camille to pull him in a little tighter. "He told me that he was being shipped off tomorrow. This is it Camille, he's finally going and the possibility that he'll never come back is so real, and I'm just so scared" he continued, and this time, Camille let her own fears fall.

"I know. I have the exact same fear with Dak, expect I never got to tell him how I feel. But they will come back James" she replied, although she knew she wasn't so sure herself. James sniffled one last time, before pulling out of the hug and wiping his eyes. Silence loomed over the two of them once again, with the brief noise of the fish surfacing for air sometimes interrupting it, as they considered everything that had just been said and shared. At least now James knew that he had someone to confide him if things ever got tough, but it did raise a question in James head.

"So, you knew about…us" he asked, causing a small, sad chuckle to leave Camille.

"Yeah, to me you weren't exactly subtle about it. I mean, I started to have an idea when you winked at Kendall when we were talking about flirting with him, and then you brought his family half way across the country" she responded, causing James to blush. "Plus, I heard you sneak out the night you kissed" she added, James chuckling this time.

"I guess I'll have to work on my ability at shutting doors" he joked back, causing her to join in with the chuckle. "So, who else knows?"

"Only Carlos, but considering he has a crush on Logan, I can't imagine he'd tell" she replied, because covering her mouth while James gasped at the news.

"Really? It all makes sense now!" he said out loud, causing Camille to raise an eyebrow. "When Logan came around that day, when I wanted to make Kendall jealous, I saw how Carlos blushed when he saw Logan. He did it as well when he brought in our food, but I thought that it was just because Logan was complimenting his food!" he began, before gasping again. "Logan likes him back! That's why he glanced back at Carlos, and then was so nice when complimenting his food" James rambled as the news came into the light. Camille just chuckled at his rave, as she watched the gears turn in James' head. "Oh, and Dak likes you back by the way!" he added, causing Camille to shake her head.

"No, he doesn't"

"He so does! Every time he drove me anywhere, he would always make a comment about you, even when he doesn't mean too, and I see the way he looks at you. I didn't want to say anything since I thought it was inappropriate to meddle in your business, but since you did it in mine, I think it's only fair" James said, pushing her with his shoulder in a playful way. A small blush settled on her face at the news, but then a frown took its place.

"It's too bad we can't do anything about it now" she said, causing the two of them to sink back into reality. She was right, there nothing to do about it now, and James only hoped he could be able to something about it in the future.

* * *

After sleeping off the shock of both the letter, and the conversation with Camille, James woke up feeling refreshed and one thing lingered on his mind. He'd forgotten to tell Jennifer that he had received a letter from her son. He knew that Jennifer would want to know that Kendall was ok, as well as get an update on Kendall's position, so after getting showered and dressed for the day, the brunet made his way into the kitchen, where he was greeted with the sight of Jennifer washing up some pots. She turned when she heard the door sound and smiled at James as the brunet walked up beside her, grabbing a tea towel in order to help dry the pots she had just cleaned.

"Morning, and you don't need to worry about that sir" she said, causing James to smile back at her as he shook his head.

"Nonsense, I'm happy to help" he replied, causing the two of them to settle into a silence. James wasn't sure why he couldn't strike up conversation with Jennifer like he usually could, but he was putting it down to the news he had to share. He wasn't quite sure why he was so nervous about telling her, probably due to the fact that Kendall had sent him the letter rather than his own mother, but James wasn't responsible for that, so surely that wouldn't cause an issue would it? As the rest of the pots were dried, Jennifer flashed him a small smile as she washed her hands and once she was finished, she turned so that she was leaning her side against the work surface.

"I'm assume you didn't just come in to help me wash up" she asked, raising her eyebrow at the brunet, causing him to blush.

"No, I wanted to talk to you about something" he replied, gesturing to the table causing the two of them to take a seat. James could see that Jennifer was fidgeting slightly, and he guessed it was probably due to her thinking that something had happened to Kendall. To rest her nerves, James reached over and grabbed one of her hands, as he flashed her a small smile. "I got a letter from Kendall yesterday." He started, causing her head to snap up to him to show he had her full attention. "He said that he was being shipped off to Liverpool today, where he was going to get a bit more training before he gets sent to the front line. He doesn't know where he will be stationed yet, but he said that he will write as soon as he knows. He wanted me to tell you that he loves you and Katie very much" James could see that Jennifer had a few tears gathering in her eyes, and to be honest he couldn't blame her, especially when he had his own tears to worry about.

"Thank you, James, it's nice to know that he's safe" she stated, wiping her eyes clear.

"I knew you would want to know. And if I hear anything, and I mean anything else, then I'll let you know" he replied, giving her hands a squeeze to show his support. The two receded into silence again as they tried to compose themselves and reflect on the news. As Jennifer wiped the last of the tears from her eyes, James could see that she had gained a small smile on her face, and from the expression she was pulling, he started to get a gut feeling that he was about to be questioned.

"I have to admit, I'm slightly hurt that he wrote to you before me" she began, causing James to both pale and blush at the same time. It was a weird combination of the two, and it caused him to wipe his hands over his face before he replied.

"Well, it's probably because he knew the letter would get to me" he replied, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him. "The envelope didn't have an exact address on it, only 'Mr James Diamond, California' so he probably knew that the postal people get it to me" he continued, seeing her nod slightly.

"I'm sure that's right" she replied, but James could sense in her tone that she wasn't convinced. "Although it could be because he loves you" she replied, and this time, James' face paled completely. He was quick to glance around the room, to see if anyone else had entered without him knowing and he breathed out a sigh of relief when no one else was around.

"How'd you…" he began, causing her to chuckle.

"I know my son, and I see the way he looks at you. Plus, I made Katie tell me what you were talking about on the train" she replied, causing him to blush instead this time.

"So, you don't…um…mind?" he asked, causing her to shake her head.

"I will admit, I wasn't happy about it at first because it's against the law and that, but when I saw the two of you together, and saw the way you looked at each other, it started to make it easier to accept. I can see that you truly care for him James, and as a mother, that's all I can ask for my son." She replied, before walking around to table to give him a hug. "Welcome to the family James" she said, causing the brunet to choke up slightly at her words. "And if you ever need someone to talk to, just let me know"

He nodded into her arms, returning the hug before she pulled out and left the kitchen to process the news that James had told her.

Once he was alone, the brunet could finally collect his thoughts, and he couldn't help the smile that grew on his face. He'd gotten permission to date Kendall so to speak, and he'd now got another person to confide in when he was feeling down or just needed to get something off of his chest.

It was safe to say that James was finding out the same that Kendall did when James left, that he had a lot more friends that he thought he did.

* * *

After finding out that it would be about a week before he heard from Kendall again, since that was the length of time it took to cross the Atlantic, James knew that he needed to distract himself, and there was no better way to do that than spend the day with Logan. After ringing Logan to ask if he wanted to come around, and receiving a yes, James got himself ready for the day, although he was unsure of what the two of them could do together, and this was the first time that this had happened.

Usually, he was filled with ideas of what he and Logan could do together, but he found himself not being up for any of it. The two of them would usually play some tennis for a little while, and maybe watch a few films on the projector, but today James wasn't just feeling it. Instead, he just sighed as he rested on the bed. Hopefully Logan would revive his energy when he got there.

When James heard the car coming up the estate drive, as well as the shouting from his mother, he made his way downstairs, ready to greet Logan at the door when he got there. "Logan, it's so nice to see you again!" James said, as he walked up to Logan and pulled him into a hug.

"I know, I've been so busy, I'm sorry" Logan replied, causing James to shrug, knowing that he hadn't really made the time for the other brunet either. After they pulled out, James led the other brunet through the house and up to his room, where he could return to his previous position, which was laid out on the bed. Logan chuckled at his action, as he sat on the bed himself. "So, word on the street is that the Taylor Family has broken apart" Logan commented, raising his eyebrow at James who blushed slightly. "You wouldn't know anything about that would you?" he continued, causing James to chuckle.

"Only because I was the one who caused it all" he replied, before pulling himself up against the pillows so he could sit on the bed as Logan did. "He wanted to sleep with me again, and I said no"

"And then I hear that Kendall came to the rescue, and helped you" Logan replied, wiggling his eyebrow suggestively at James, causing the brunet to blush as he reached for a pillow and whacked Logan with it.

"Shut up! You know as well?" he asked, causing Logan to chuckle.

"You weren't exactly subtle about it on my last visit. 'Oh, he's just so sweet and innocent. Oh, the only good part of the trip was Kendall'" Logan replied, mimicking James' voice as he mocked him, causing James to whack him with a pillow once again. Logan clutched his chest in laughter as he fell back onto the bed, now lying down as James once was. James was quick to pass Logan a pillow so that he could rest his head on it, before leaning back against the pillows himself, staring at Logan.

"Well, if we're going to talk about my love life, why don't we mention yours" James began, causing Logan to scoff.

"Please, what love life?" he replied, causing a smug smile to grow on James' face, now knowing it was his turn.

"Truly you've done an amazing job" James mimicked Logan this time, and the blush that settled on Logan's face was evidence enough for James. "Ha! I knew it! You like Carlos!"

"Keep your voice down, we don't need everyone hearing!" Logan snapped back, but James knew that he wasn't being malicious. "How'd you…"

"Well, I was talking to Camille, when she said that Carlos has a crush on you, and then everything kinda clicked into place." James replied with a shrug, causing Logan to pull himself back up.

"He does?" Logan asked, causing James to nod his head.

"Sure, you can ask Camille about it, as she probably knows more than I do"

"No no, it's fine. I'll take your word for it" Logan replied before sighing and rubbing his hand over his face. "Damn this stupid war. Because of this, I'm currently not asking Carlos to go out on a date with me" he huffed, causing James to nod.

"And because of this, Kendall isn't in my arms while I teach him how to write" James replied, causing the two brunets to look at each other and let out a sigh as they both fell back down onto the bed. It was probably overdramatic, but at that moment, they didn't care.

All they cared about was the fact that they were separated from the people they wanted to be with.

* * *

 **So there we go! James got a letter from Kendall, saying that he was being shipped out to Liverpool and that he misses him and loves him very much. We also had Camille come to comfort the brunet, and a lot of secrets were revealed there, with James finding out that Camille knows about him and Kendall, that Camille likes Dak, and that Logan and Carlos like each other! We also had James talk with Jennifer, where Jennifer then admitted that she also knew about James and Kendall, and how she approves of it, and to end the chapter, we had James and Logan chatting about the whole situation as well. Just, bless them all!**

 **I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm glad to hear that you all liked the bootcamp training, that made me really happy! Also you all really love Freight Train, so I may have to start including him in more of my stories! Hopefully this lived up to what you wanted from James' side of everything, and it'll be another few chapters until we see him again.**

 **Anyway, I will see you for the next chapter of Love James, but until then**

 **TTFN 😃**


	20. Chapter 20: Lathom Park

**Hi Guys and welcome back to the next chapter of Class Vs Character! We're back to Kendall today, so let's get going!**

* * *

When Kendall was growing up, the blond never once thought that he'd see the ocean, so when James took him down to the beach for a date, he was overjoyed by the experience and made the most of it. He found himself absolutely loving the ocean and wanting to spend as much time near it as he could. Of course, that was before he was shoved onto a boat that was going to be sailing for six days.

Now, three days in, the blond was more than happy to admit that he hated the ocean, as the waves caused the boat to rock. Sat in his quarters, the blond could feel the ship swaying from side to side and every time he tried to walk, he stumbled trying to get his balance. What didn't help his situation was that he was stuck in his room and couldn't leave. The captain of the ship had sailed them right into the middle of a storm, meaning that the water was even choppier and that it was unsafe to move around the ship. Apart from essentially personal, the whole crew were trapped in their rooms, and he was becoming sick of it. He glanced out the small porthole, only to see that the weather wasn't letting up and sighed, causing a chuckle to resonate through the room.

"Come on Kendall, play cards with us. It'll take your mind off of it" Michael said, gesturing to the cards that were laid out on the floor. Freight Train was sat on the floor along with Peter, the two of them ready to play.

"Nah, I'm good thanks. I'll watch though" Kendall replied, causing them to chuckle softly as he sat on the floor with them. It still didn't fix Kendall's original issue, the fact that he was on a rocking boat in the middle of nowhere, but he thought it might take his mind off of it. As he watched Michael deal out the cards, Peter turned to him.

"What's up? Normally you seem to be a little bit more chipper" he asked, causing Kendall to frown slightly.

"Are you guys scared?" he asked, turning once again so that he wasn't looking at them.

"I'm absolutely terrified" he heard Freight Train say, and that helped calm his nerves slightly.

"You're the last person I'd expect to hear that from" Michael said, causing Peter to mumble.

"But I'm freaked as well" he continued, before Freight Train spoke up once again.

"I think it's only natural to feel that way. I mean, we've been taught about all these horrible things and now they are sending us to face them. We're going to be frightened. But what we need to remember is that what we do out there will help everyone we cared for back home" Hearing pretty much everyone confess that they were horrified did help his nerves slightly, as he knew that he wasn't alone in this, but there was another point in Freight Train's speech that he focused on.

Just like Freight Train had said, if he could help James, his mother and his sister by doing this, then it would be worth it, especially after everything James had done for him. Still, that didn't help the fact that he was stuck on this boat for the next three days.

* * *

As the boat docked into Liverpool, Kendall's nerves both subsided and rose at the same time. He could finally get off of the boat, and back onto dry land, but what he also saw as he disembarked was all of the equipment that was going to the war as well as him. His eyes seemed to mostly focus on the large tanks that rolled off of the ships that had sailed with him across the Atlantic, as well as some of the British aircraft carriers that accompanied them. That caused his nerves to rise, knowing that he was being sent to the same location they were, and that gave him some idea of how bad the war zone actually was, as if his training wasn't enough to that.

"Come on Blondie! Get a move on!" he heard a voice shout at him, one that seemed to have a thick accent that made it difficult for him to understand. He felt a slightly push from behind, and when he glanced over his shoulder, he saw Freight Train with him. Kendall just nodded, before finally stepping off of the ramp and onto British soil. As the continued to walk through the port, towards the registration point, he couldn't help but hear some of what the English soldiers were saying. Again, there accent was very strong, so a lot of what they were saying didn't make any sense to him.

"Can't wait until lunch. I need some scran"

"I know what you mean, we've been chocka today"

"I know, plus I really need a bevvy" The group of Liverpudlians broke into laughter, while Kendall just stared at them completely shocked and confused. As their laughter died down, he saw one of them look over at him.

"Oi yank! Mind ya own fackin business" he spat, causing Kendall to flinch slightly as he looked away. That caused another chorus of laughter to sound, but luckily Freight Train was with him.

"Hey, don't listen to them, they're just pissed because they're stuck cleaning our ship for the rest of the day" he whispered into Kendall's ear, causing the blond to chuckle as he nodded, the two of them continuing to walk towards their location. When the finally reached the registration area, it was similar to as it was when they had first arrived at the camp. A large group of people were all clumped together as they each tried to find out where they were going to be sent, and Kendall decided it would be best if he just waited patiently for the crowd to sort itself out. It probably took about 10 minutes before there was finally an opening for Kendall, so he took a deep breath and made his way up to the registry officer, déjà vu flooding in.

"Kendall Knight" the blond said straight away, causing the officer to nod as he flipped over a few pages in his booklet before an 'a-ha' escaped his mouth.

"There is a cart waiting for you at the other side of the base. They'll be taking you to Lathom Park" the registry officer said, causing Kendall to nod as he walked away. Freight Train went up next, Kendall waiting for his friend and when the two of them were reunited, they shared their assignments.

"I'm being sent to Stirling Barracks. Apparently, it's the Royal School of Artillery, and they'll think I'll be perfect for it" the larger male said, causing Kendall to nod.

"Well, I suppose this is goodbye then" Kendall replied, looking up at Freight Train.

"I suppose it is, but you'll be fine kid, trust me" Freight Train replied, before the two of them hugged and said their goodbyes. With a few tears welling in Kendall's eyes, the blond pulled out.

"Well, I best be off" he said, causing the older male to nod.

"Stay safe kid, and when this is all over, expect me to be in contact" he replied, tapping Kendall on his arm one last time before they separated. He'd known Freight Train for about 3 months, so while it wasn't the longest time, the two of them had definitely formed a friendship like no other. The older male was always there to help Kendall when he needed it, and there were a few times where Kendall had thought of Freight Train of a father figure.

 _'However, if this war is proving anything, it's that good things always come to an end'_ he thought to himself, before straightening out his jacket and continuing his walk to the train station.

* * *

Kendall wasn't quite sure what to expect when he arrived at his new assignment in Lathom Park, but it was nothing like he thought it would be. The sight of another estate seemed to throw the blond completely, and as he travelled up the driveway with about 20 other recruits he couldn't believe his eyes. It was similar to the first time he'd travelled to the Diamond Estate, with him being completely in awe of the buildings, but this time instead of being in awe, he was in shock.

When he'd been told he was going to train for another four weeks before being shipped off, he assumed it would be another army camp, but quite thankfully, he was mistaken. As the carriages stopped, everyone was quick to hop off the carriage, and stand in front of the military commander present. With the 20 recruits in a line, he began to shout.

"Do not be mistaken" he began in a very British accent, which took Kendall by surprise for a brief second before he reminded himself that he was in the UK. "You will be still training for war here, but since you have all been assigned as stable hands, you have been sent here. Welcome to Lathom Park, where you will be caring for the war horses that will be shipped off with you. While you are here, you will be assigned five horses that will be shipped into the war with you. You are to care for the horses and form a bond with them. That way, when they are put into that environment, they will be accustomed to you and will remain calm" the man continued to shout, as Kendall nodded. It made sense in the blond's head. If they bonded with the horses here, then it meant that they would be easier to look after in that stressful environment, such as the war would be.

"You'll also be taught some basic triage while you are here so that if a horse is wounded in battle, you will be able to care for it. For the mean time however, I want you to find a room, and quickly get settled in. I can imagine for our American helpers it has been a stressful few days, and you will want some rest, so today will be more relaxed. When you have found a room, and met your roommate, I want you to report to me for your assignments and then report to your stable. The horses have already been mucked out, feed and provided water but I want you to wash and groom them in order for you to begin forming that bond. Tomorrow, the real training will start. Dismissed!" he finished, causing them all to nod as the grabbed their bags and headed for the house.

To Kendall this didn't sound so bad, especially due to the fact that he'd been doing this for the last 9 years. If anything, he was slightly relieved at his new posting, and he knew that he had James to thank for that. As Kendall walked to where the bedrooms were in the house, it was safe to say he noticed how lucky he actually was at the Diamond's Estate. It wasn't as if the house wasn't nice or anything, but the servant's area was dark and cold.

He was led into the basement of the house where he immediately shivered at the rapid temperature drop, and he had to be careful while walking for a few seconds, as his eyes needed to adapt to the different light level. As they walked through the corridor, everyone seemed to filter into the rooms, and when Kendall took a glance in he saw that, much like the Diamonds, there were two beds per room. When he got about half way down the corridor, he finally poked his head properly into a room to see a young male already in there.

"Hi, mind if I room with you?" Kendall asked, causing the lad to snap his head up in shock.

"No, it's fine" he replied, a British accent present once again, and Kendall had the fleeting through that he should probably try to get used to it, or at least not be as shocked.

"Thanks, I'm Kendall by the way"

"Tyler" the lad replied, as Kendall placed his bag down on the bed. The blond was quick to take a glance round at the room, noticing how bare it was. The room basically considered of the two beds, and two chests of drawers but that was it. _'I really did have it good'_ He thought to himself as he began to unpack.

"So, where are you from?" Kendall began, trying to make conversation with his roommate.

"Oh, I'm from Chester originally, what about you?" he replied, flashing Kendall a smile.

"I'm from Wichita, but I worked in California" he replied, causing the ginger male to gape at him with awe.

"That's so cool! I've heard so much about Hollywood and Los Angeles. What are the like?" he replied, causing Kendall to chuckle.

"I'm not sure. I work at a place just outside of Oakland, so I've never been. My boss has though, and he said it was really fun" he responded, hoping that answer would satisfy Tyler. When the ginger male just nodded, Kendall took that as a sign and continued to pack his stuff. When he was finished, he spoke up again. "I suppose we should get out assignments then" Kendall said, causing Tyler to nod as the two of them made their way out of the rooms, and up to the house. As they let the basement, they found the military commander was waiting for them outside. He smiled at them as they approached, before saluting something that they were quick to replicate.

"Names?" he asked, causing Kendall to glance over at Tyler who was looking back at him

"Kendall Knight Sir" he said, causing the commander to begin flicking through the pages he was holding.

"Ah, one of the yanks here to help" he said while doing so, causing Kendall to nod, not knowing whether it was an insult or not. By the way the commander said it, he didn't think it was, but he's been wrong before. "Here we are. You're in stable 3, and you are taking care of the 5 horses on the left hand side. The person working on the right is there already" he said, pointing the way that Kendall had to go.

"Thank you, sir," the blond replied, before walking in the direction the commander was pointing. It took him about 5 minutes to find where he needed to be, but he finally took a breath of relief when he found his stable. As he walked in, he called out "hello?" to see if the other person was waiting for him, and he was greeted with a head being shot up from the other side of the stable.

"Hi" the guy said, but Kendall could see the disgust on her face when he did. Ignoring it, the blond continued.

"I'm Kendall, I'm working on the horses on the left" he continued, causing the guy to make a scoffing noise.

"Of course you are, since I'm working on the ones of the right" he replied, causing Kendall to roll his eyes. After military training, with Ben and George, Kendall had grown a little bit of a tough skin when dealing with people like this, so he knew that he should just ignore this guy and get to work. As the blond reached for the horse brush, he noticed that similarly to the Diamonds, each of the pens had a name tag with the name of the horse. Smiling, he began to read them all so that he could start to remember their names, however he froze as he reached the third horse.

"Diamond" he whispered out loud, staring down at the horse's name like it was purposely taunting him.

 _'Surely this can't be a coincidence'_ He thought to himself as he rubbed his name over the name plaque before shaking his head. No matter what it was, the blond was determined not to let this get to him, but no matter how many times he told himself that, he couldn't help the tears that welled in his eyes as well as the memories that were brought with him.

"Fuck, I miss you" he whispered, rubbing his hand over the plaque once again, his mind now filled with thoughts of James, and how the brunet was faring without him. He only hoped it was better than he was faring without the brunet.

* * *

"Ok, so today I am going to teach you how to disinfect a wound and apply a bandage to a horse!" The commander shouted towards the 20 recruits, and the horses accompanying them. After everyone had gotten fed and ready that morning, they were told to go to their stable, and grab a horse before meeting with each other. The blond was certainly confused about why when he was told, but he knew what horse he was going to grab straight away, Diamond. He was snapped out of his thought process when the commander continued.

"While there will be a vet or many even two station at your base, this is an important skill for you to know, especially for when the vet is busy dealing with seriously injured animals. It is also important to know that they are not only responsible for the horses at the camp, so this is a great way for you to show them that you are capable and willing to help" he continued, causing them all to nod. He could hear Diamond let out a small snort, and he was quick to pet him, in order to calm his nerves. The horse seemed to settle down after that, as the commander continued.

"Now, what is important to remember about this compared to the real situation, is that here the horse isn't injured so it will make it easier. But out on the field, you will need to remember that the horse will be in pain and when you try to clean and bandage the wound it will cause more pain to the horse at first. They will try to fight you, but the more you bond with your horses now, the easier it will be out there." He said, causing everyone to nod once again. They all saw how the commander's eyes flicked down to the bags in front of them, and for a brief moment, Kendall had the fear that he would have to run with it on return. He was calmed however when the commander continued.

"In the bag in front of you is a few bandages, some Carbolic lotion and a wash cloth for you to use. I want you to pretend that the horse is injured and apply the bandage to them. Apply the carbolic lotion to the wash cloth first to clean out the wound, and then wrap a bandage covered in carbolic fluid around the wound and that will do it. If there is a wound where that won't work, then you'll need to contact the vet." He finished, causing them all to nod once again before they got to work. When Kendall let go of Diamond and bent down to grab the bag he saw how Diamond follow his action, lowering his head so that he could sniff and nudge the bag slightly. That caused Kendall to chuckle as he began to open the bag, talking to Diamond as he did so.

"Don't worry buddy, it's only a practise, but I need you to be good for me ok?" he asked, causing Diamond to let out a neigh. Kendall chuckled once again, lifting one hand to pat Diamond before he got himself situated. First, he grabbed the wash cloth and poured some of the Carbolic lotion onto it, and even the blond noticed how cold it was. "Ok buddy, so this is going to be cold, but I need you to stay still for me ok?" he asked once again, patting the horse as he used his free hand to pretend to wash out a wound. He could see how Diamond jumped slightly at the touch of the cold liquid, causing Kendall to try to soothe him.

"It's ok buddy, calm down, it's ok" he continued patting the horse as he spoke, and Diamond was quick to relax as the blond continued. Deeming what he had done as acceptable, the blond was quick to douse a bandage in the liquid and wrap it around Diamond's leg. Again, the horse seemed to jump at the liquid, but this time he didn't try to move away. When the bandage was applied, Kendall jumped up, before stroking the horse's mane. "Well done boy" he said as he did so, causing Diamond to neigh once again.

The blond took the opportunity to look around, and he noted how only a few others were finished, but mostly everyone else was still working. As he made eye contact the commander, he forced a serious expression onto his face but when the commander nodded back at his work and him, he couldn't help the smile that grew on his face. The blond was quick to look away, as his smile continued to grow, the fleeting thought passing that he really enjoyed learning how to help the horse out.

* * *

The month that Kendall was at Lathom Park seemed to fly by, and a major contributor to that was the fact that Kendall was actually enjoying the training he was receiving. Sure, he never wished for a horse to be in that situation in the first place, but he'd gained a large amount of satisfaction knowing that he could help out when he needed to. Of course, all good things must come to an end, and that was especially clear to Kendall when the commander had called them into the dinning room that noon.

All 20 of them were gathered around the table, each of them fidgeting and becoming all nervous as to where they would be sent. Small whispered were radiating around the room, as the situation was discussed but it was silenced when the commander walked in. The men were quick to stand in his presence, causing him to chuckle as he told them to sit down.

"I can imagine you know why you are here?" he asked, causing them all to nod, a look of disappointment becoming communal. At least Kendall knew that he wasn't the only one that didn't want to leave. "Well, there is no sense keeping you waiting them" the commander continued before pulling out a sheet of paper and beginning to read the names in alphabetical order. Kendall listened as he listed off places that he'd never heard of before, wondering what they would look like before it finally got to his name.

"Knight, Verdun" the commander said, causing him to nod, and that was it.

Those two simple words had just decided his fate from here on out, and that caused his gut to drop slightly as everything dawned on him. This was it, now it was actually going to happen and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Since leaving The Diamond estate, almost 4 months ago, Kendall knew this moment was coming, but it certainly didn't make it any less scary.

Now, there were no more stops along the way that could buy him a little more time.

Now, he was finally being shipped off to war, and boy was he horrified.

* * *

 **So there we go! We had Kendall train with the horses he will be sent to war with, and now he has his posting! The next chapter will be Kendall arriving at his base, as well as showing what happens there!**

 **A massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter and I'm so glad you all enjoyed see James again! Of course Jennifer would welcome James, I mean, who wouldn't! You also seemed to love the letter from Kendall, which I just had to include and trust me, more of that is coming up! And yes, I had to have some Jagan in there, especially with Logan admitting his crush on Carlos, it needed to happen!**

 **I will see you all on Thursday for the reveal of Comit in Love, James but until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	21. Chapter 21: Fort Vaux

**Hi guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So where we finally are, Kendall has finally got to the front lines of the war! I won't keep you any longer, so let's crack on!**

* * *

As Kendall passed through the French country side, it was almost if he wasn't being shipped off to war. The green fields surrounding him were untouched, and the people working on them seemed somewhat happy, almost as if nothing was going on. Of course, he knew that wasn't true at all, and he thought back to the first act of war that he had witnessed, the memory haunting him as it replayed.

They were sailing over the English Channel at the time, as five ships transporting troops accompanied them when all of a sudden there was a loud bang, followed by a huge plume of fire and smoke. Everyone on the ship scrambled, as they witnessed one of their fellow transports begin to sink, soldiers jumping off of the sides in order to try to escape and as well as watching the turning of the main guns of his, and the surrounding ships. The next few moments seemed to pass like a flash and before Kendall could even comprehend what happened, he heard their ships main gun fire, but instead of a plume of fire and smoke this time, he was greeted with a huge eruption of water with a ship rising from it for a brief second. The ship was like nothing Kendall had even seen before, and his mind thought back to the word 'submarine' which had been thrown around during his time in Dover. They were the first causalities that Kendall had witness during the war and was damn sure that he wasn't going to forget them anytime soon.

He removed himself from his thoughts when he heard the soldiers in is carriage become all rowdy as the saw the City of Verdun come into view. The blond was quick to survey as much of the city as he could, knowing that this would be his home for a little while, well sort of his home. He'd been told that this base was set up on the outskirts of the city, about a 5 minute car ride away, so he knew that he wouldn't be spending too much time here. As they disembarked the train, everyone was quickly sorted into groups, with those being sent to the trenches entering quite a few trucks, while those who were entering the camp were sent to another. Kendall made sure not to get confused, and once he was sat in the back of the correct truck, he let out a sigh of relief. It was moments later, when the vehicle began to drive, taking Kendall to his home for god knows how long.

When Kendall arrived at this base, he noticed that it was kind of similar to his training camp, but the big difference was the size. It was considerably smaller than the one he trained in, with him only counting about 20 different buildings, compared to what felt like hundreds at Camp Wiltshire. As soon as they had passed the entrance to the fort, the truck allowed them to hop out, and they're were greeted by another commander, Kendall's third if he was counting correctly.

"Greeting! I'm Commander Masters and welcome to Fort Vaux!" the man shouted, something Kendall was quickly becoming sick off. "Right, let me show you around so that you can get straight to work. You have been sent here because the forts in the surrounding area had recently been captured by the Germans and liberated once again. Due to that, we believe that more people are required here, to make sure that the area is as secure as possible" Masters continued as they walked, causing Kendall to freak out.

The blond thought that while he was close to the front lines, he wasn't close enough for them to be an issue but after hearing this, he wasn't so sure. A new wave of fear raced through him, but he kept himself composed at the commander continued the tour. After gaining the basic understanding of where the mess hall was, and where the sleeping quarters were, the whole group of them were dismissed, causing Kendall to make his way back to the stables they passed. When he arrived, he was greeted with the familiarity of the five horses he had worked with back at Lathom Park, but there were also about 10 more that he would have to get accustom to.

That was when the main stable door was barged open, following by a large man who was trying to walk a freaked out horse into one of the pens.

"You, dog!" he said, pointing to Kendall, causing the blond's eyes to widen at him as the British man to continue. "I need you to fix this horse while I get the rest of them in here. MOVE!" he shouted, causing Kendall to jump slightly as he ran towards the man, and got the horse out of his hands. The blond was quick to take over his place, leading the horse into a free pen, while the British man left, leaving him completely alone.

"Ok, you can do this" Kendall said to himself when the horse was secure. He was quick to glance around and as soon as he found the medical supplies, he bolted over to them, making sure to grab everything he needed. When he returned, the blond finally got a good look at the horse's injury to see that it was a long scratch down his leg.

 _'At least it's something I'm familiar with'_ Kendall thought to himself as he poured the lotion onto the wash cloth. The blond took a deep breath, before raising the cloth onto the wound. As soon as the cloth hit it, the horse seemed to neigh loudly as he bucked, Kendall quickly dodging out of its way while the horse continued to buck and kick in its pen.

"Woah, easy boy" Kendall said, his voice calm as he tried to help, but it seemed to do nothing for the animal with it still acting wild and mad. "Calm down" the blond continued, his voice a little sterner this time but when the horse didn't listen, he quickly lost his fuse. "Stop!" Kendall shouted at the horse this time, grabbing on the reins to keep it still. The horse seemed to neigh louder at his shouting, but ultimately stopped bucking, causing the blond to smile as he bent down once again, reins still in hand.

"This is going to hurt, but I will make you better, so stay still!" he continued, his voice stern once again, as he placed the wash cloth onto the wound. The horse neighed and jumped slightly, but Kendall was able to tug on the reins a little causing it to calm down. Doing his best, the blond began to clean out the wound by running the wash cloth up and down it. He didn't really know what he was looking for, but when he pulled the cloth away, to see some smears on it, he deemed that was good enough. He was then quick to douse the bandage in the lotion, before wrapping it about four times around the horse's leg. Again, at first, the horse freaked out at the touch, but Kendall was able to calm it relatively quickly by tugging on the rein. When the bandage was secure, he gathered the medical supplies and left the pen to put them back before returning to the horse.

"See, that's wasn't too bad" he spoke as he rubbed the horse's face with his hand. The horse seemed to lean into his touch, which caused him to chuckle. "Now, you will get better" he continued, before hearing a chuckle from behind him. When he glanced around his shoulder, he saw the man from earlier watching as he put a couple horses back into their pens.

"Not bad dog, where'd you get taught to do that?" the man asked, causing Kendall to glare at him slightly at the use of the name 'dog' before he replied.

"Lathom Park" the blond said, causing the man to whistle.

"Well, that makes sense then" he replied, before extending his hand. "Name's Gustavo, and I run this stable"

"Kendall" the blond nodded, before continuing. "And I'm here to help"

"A yank huh? That should be good fun. Well, since you want to help why don't you begin by getting the new horses ready?" he asked, causing Kendall to nod, a smile growing on his face at the fact that the could see his horses again. With a departing nod,

Gustavo went to do his own thing again, leaving Kendall to get on.

* * *

' _August 2_ _nd_ _, 1917_

 _Dear James,  
_ _I have received my posting in a city called Verdun, and I wanted to write to you to let you know that I am ok._

 _For the past month, I have been training at a place called Lathom Park, where they taught us about looking after the horses, not that I needed much practise at that. They also taught us some stuff to help in case the horses got injured and I already had to put that into use yesterday. I actually really enjoyed my time there and am considering whether to continue some of that training when I get back._

 _The camp itself is nice, but I will admit that it is scary being in this situation. We are just on the outskirts of the city, so I don't think that regular trips in will be a thing but one can only hope. Soldiers are constantly walking past, which acts as a reminder of where we are, and when the camp is especially quiet, mostly at night, you can hear loud bangs in the distance which I'm guessing the front line._

 _It is safe to say that I am still missing everyone on the estate, but now that I have a permanent posting, I hope to hear from you soon. Please pass my love to everyone, and I hope that you are all getting on ok. I only wish that I will see you soon_

 _Kendall'_

After sending that letter, the months seemed to blur together, with Kendall working every single day. It wasn't that the work was particularly challenging for the blond, mostly because he'd been doing it for the last 9 years of his life but what did make it difficult was the location. Being so close to the front lines was definitely freaking Kendall out, especially when he could hear bombs going off, and sometimes shooting occurring and the horses were relied upon a lot more than he was actually used to.

Normally, he would muck out the pen, and supply food and water while the horses were roaming in the field, but these horses were used a lot, which meant that Kendall also spent a lot of time saddling them up, or attaching them to carts and when they returned, he could also have to wash and groom them. Gustavo was definitely a big help when he was there, but Kendall noticed that a lot of the time, the older male was off doing something, so he would be left working on his own trying to get through about 15 horses a day and those were only the ones that were stationed at his camp.

Other horses from other bases frequented with supplies, and Kendall was also tasked with looking after them while they were there, so it was dealing with a lot. So much that his letters to James had stopped after his first initial one. He'd got a response back from the brunet saying that he was happy Kendall was safe and ok, and that he's glad he can now write to him but apart from that, conversation between them had ceased due to how busy Kendall was.

The next letter Kendall received was on the 2nd November, and after a pretty busy day, he found himself snuggling into his bed as he opened it.

* * *

' _November 2_ _nd_ _, 1917_

 _Kendall,  
_ _Happy Birthday! From what I have been told, today is the day that you turn 20, so we wanted to send you a letter! We are all full of sorrow that you cannot spend it with us, but we wish you all the best. Please write back!_

 _James, Jennifer, Katie, Camille, Lucy, Peggy, Jenny, Henry and Brooke Diamond'_

Kendall found himself gaping the letter, mostly because he himself had forgotten that it was his birthday. It was certainly difficult for him to keep track of the days with all the work that he was doing, but he was surprised that it had gone so quickly.

What he was also surprised about was the fact that everyone's signature was on the letter, showing that they all wanted to wish him the best. He couldn't help the tears that pricked the corner of his eyes and he was quick to wipe them away as he reached for a pen and a piece of paper.

After writing his response, the blond went to bed with a smile on his face that night, slipping the letter under his pillow for when times got rough.

* * *

With the announcement of his birthday, the blond was able to keep track of time a little better and as Christmas approached, he couldn't help the small bout of joy that he gained, not that it was justified. There was very little mention of the holiday in the camp, let alone any decorations, and while Kendall expected that from a war zone, he thought it would be at least talked about.

As the day seemed to crawl closer, there were a few more mentions of it, and when the day finally dawned he was surprised by a meal in the mess hall. Usually, the blond was subject to less than par foods, with him eating stale crackers and biscuits, and if he was lucky, canned meat, something he never thought he'd be grateful to see when he first encountered it at training.

However, on Christmas day, he was greeted with a cooked meal, with them preparing some meat and a few vegetables. The blond savoured the meal as he ate, knowing that it was the best one he had had in months, and also the best one he would get for the months to come, but when it came to an end, reality took back over his life and he returned to work.

 _'_ _No rest for the wicked'_ he thought to himself as he walked back over to the stable, seeing everyone was still in there usually positions, doing exactly the same thing they usually did. War doesn't stop, no matter what day it is, and Kendall learnt that lesson rather harshly. Of course, with the Christmas season coming and going, there was still one thing that Kendall had to deal with, and that was the cold weather.

As January occurred, the weather remained in equilibrium with a constant cold air sitting over his camp, and the blond shivered at the thought of what it must be like in the front lines. Many soldiers had been passing though the camp with frost bite, giving Kendall some idea but he knew that he couldn't fully comprehend their position, especially when he saw how many of them were missing toes or fingers.

It was safe to say that Kendall truly wasn't prepared for the horror that he was actually going to face, and one day in February made that particularly clear to him.

It began as just a normal day, with Kendall mucking out one of the stables when a nurse from the medical tent came running in. "We need a horse and medical cart prepared now!" she demanded, causing Kendall to drop what he was doing as he grabbed one of the horses and pulled it outside with him.

"What about the ambulances?" he asked, as got the horse into position outside, making sure it was secure against the hitching post so that it wouldn't wander off.

"It's broken down, stupid machinery" she replied, as she helped Kendall grab the necessary cart to the back of the horse. It took the blond mere minutes to do as the nurse asked, the whole time Kendall being flustered due to the urgency of the matter. His curiosity was resolved however when he saw the patient the horse would be transporting. As Kendall was securing the last connection, he saw the nurse who had informed him bolt off back towards their medical centre. With curiosity getting the better of him, he turned to see where she had run off to, and when the sight caught his eyes, bile rose to his mouth quickly, but he suppressed the urge to throw up as he finished.

The nurses were carrying a man who had no legs, and chunks of his bone were visible. Some loose skin was flapping in the wind, looking charred and burnt, and while Kendall didn't want to look at the sight, he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away.

"You! Help us lift him" another nurse said, pointing to him and without even thinking about it, the blond nodded as his face paled. As he continued to approach the man, he noticed how much pain he was in, and Kendall was shocked to see him conscious. His face had a numerous number of cuts on it, as did his arm and Kendall couldn't help but stare as he grabbed a hold of the stretcher and lifted the man on the cart.

The man let out an ear piercing scream as the stretcher was lifted, causing the blond to jump slightly and as soon as the stretcher was on it, he was pulled away from the man in order to make room for the nurses to board with him, but that still didn't stop him from staring. As the carriage pulled away, the blond finally took a deep breath before turning away.

"What…what happened to…to him" Kendall stuttered out, causing a nurse to sigh as she rubbed her forehead.

"He stood on a landmine, poor thing. We're not equipped to deal with that, but hopefully the hospital in town can help him. We can only pray" she replied, before tapping him on the shoulder. "You did good kid" she added, before walking away, leaving Kendall and his mental image of the horrible scene.

He returned to work after that, but he had that awful thing imprinted in his brain for the rest of the day, and the blond knew that the memory of the sight and the scream would haunt him for the rest of his life.

* * *

It was another few months at the base before Kendall witnessed anything like he did before, and to be honest, he was perfectly ok with that, although it was fair to say that this one was slightly less involved. It was early one morning, where he decided that he needed to get to work. He'd been told that most of the horses were going to be used to transfer a lot of supplies to one of the forts in the area that day, and that they needed to be ready. So, as he worked on the first horse, which happened to be Diamond, he could hear what sounded like buzzing from outside. At first, the blond decided to ignore it as he got settled in the the day.

"Morning buddy" he said, stroking Diamond's face causing the horse to neigh and lean into him. He chuckled, before his ears focused in on the buzzing noise once again but this time it was a lot more vivid and the blond was certain that he heard an explosion go off at the end of it. "What is that?" he asked to Diamond, and when the horse just blew air at him, he chuckled once again before finally pulling himself away and outside. The buzzing sound continued, and when he got out, he noticed how there were quite a few people also gathered around and when he looked up, he was greeted with an unusual sight.

In the distance, he could see what looked to be miniature black dots moving around in the sky. Just by looking at them, he counted about 20 of them and he finally realised what he was watching, a dogfight. The blond squinted a little more and he could easily make out the planes moving about and he figured that the buzzing sound was them firing their machines guns. Everyone around him was whispering about what was happening, and they all shared a communal gasp when they saw one of them planes blow up, the sight clearly visible.

Due to there distance, it was difficult to make it whether it was friend or foe, so everyone refrained from cheering. Another bang sounded, and their eyes snapped to a plane that was on fire and heading towards the ground. You could say it looked like a shooting star as a trail of smoke followed the aircraft down before it hit the ground, which was signalled by another bang along with a plume of smoke and fire. As more people gathered, the whispering seemed to get louder with everyone having their own opinion on what was happening, where abouts it was, and who was winning.

To Kendall, it seemed like the whole base had gathered outside to watch the show, but the commander quickly put a stop to it, telling everyone to get to work. They were all quick to scramble, but that didn't stop the buzzing and explosions from occurring all day, and it certainly didn't stop people, including Kendall, from sneaking out to witness the events that were transpiring.

As night time seemed to dawn, the fighting seemed to stop due to the lack of visibility, but when Kendall went to bed that night, he couldn't help but picture the fighting in his head, with him even imagining himself in the cockfight of the planes a few times.

* * *

As August 1918 was approaching, Kendall was becoming more and more aware of the fact that a year had passed since he last saw his family, and since he last saw James. With him working all day, he rarely had time for idol thoughts and when night dawned, he was usually too tired to stay awake for too long but today seemed different. Ever since he'd been in the stable that morning, Gustavo had also been there, tackling half the tasks that Kendall would usually do. About an hour passed before the blond questioned him on it.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised to see you here today" he said, causing the British man to let out a little chuckle as he looked over at the blond.

"Well, today is one of those rare days I get to remain at the camp" he replied, causing Kendall to quirk an eyebrow at him. The older male smiled before continuing. "I'm usually the coachman for a lot of the wagons" he replied, causing Kendall to let out an 'ahh' as he realised what Gustavo's job was.

"No wonder you haven't been around a lot. If I'm working hard to prepare the horses…."

"Then I'm getting them to where they need to be" he finished, causing the blond to smile back at him.

"What's it like, the rest of the war?" Kendall asked, causing Gustavo to let out a sigh.

"It's rough, definitely a lot worse than that we have it here. The soldiers are engaged in trench warfare all along the border, and if I'm being honest, neither side is winning at the moment" That caused Kendall to let out a dejected sigh as he spoke.

"I can't believe it's already been a year"

"Try four" Gustavo added, causing Kendall to frown slightly as he imagined it. It was rough being away from James for a year, but how would the blond cope if he had to endure three more. He shuddered at the fact, before restarting conversation. "Do you have anyone? Back home in…"

"I'm from Coventry, and I have a wife, Kelly" he replied, and Kendall could see the small smile form on his face. "We've written to each other every other week since it had started but it's not the same as being with her you know." He continued, causing Kendall to nod again, knowing the exact feeling. "What about you, you got anyone back in…"

"Oakland" Kendall said, knowing it was better than explaining everything that had happened. "And yeah, I have someone waiting for me. At the moment they are looking after my mother and sister for me" he replied, a smile forming on his face again, as he thought of James.

"Do you write to each other?" Gustavo asked, causing Kendall to nod.

"When I can, so it's probably about once a month or so. It's not enough though" he stated, and he heard a sad chuckle come from Gustavo.

"Trust me kid, it's never enough" the older man replied, and that caused the two of them to get back to work, Kendall reflecting on what the older male had said.

He was right.

Nothing would ever be enough until he was being held is James' arms again.

* * *

 **So there we have it, Kendall year at the front lines, and a lot seemed to go on! This was definitely a weird thing for me to write because I wanted to do it all in one chapter but at the same time, I also wanted to drag it out a little bit, so I thought this, plus the next chapter would work well together. So, yeah, the next chapter will be Kendall at war also, but that will focus on one day rather than a lot of smaller events. But anyway, he also had the introduction of Gustavo in this chapter, who is married to Kelly!**

 **I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter and you were all sad to see Freight Train go, but at least we now have Gustavo right! And to answer RainbowDiamonds question, Tyler is the juice box kid, nice going spotting that! I'm also glad that you all loved Diamond the horse, and trust me, he'll be back!**

 **I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Love James, but until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	22. Chapter 22: November 8th

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So, a little update life update, but today I am starting my second year of University, bright and early with a 9am Lecture! Isn't that Great! 😭 Anyway, let's get back to Kendall!**

* * *

To say Kendall was feeling slightly optimistic was an overstatement, but he was definitely in a good mood when he woke up on the morning of the 8th November 1918. For one, there had been talks on the radio about the possibility of an armistice coming into play, and after Gustavo explained it to Kendall, the blond realised that it was a good thing, that would possible end the war.

What also added to his good mood was that he'd received a letter that morning from James, and he was very excited to read it. So, after the blond had eaten his breakfast, he made his way over to the stable, letter in hand, where he'd decide he'd read it while he was working. That way, he had something to focus on besides cleaning up horse shit. As the blond walked in, he noticed how Gustavo was already working away, and the blond was quick to flash the man a smile.

"Morning kid" Gustavo said as soon as he noticed the blond.

"Morning Gustavo. I got a letter this morning!" he replied, causing the older man to chuckle.

"And you brought it here?"

"Well yeah, I thought I could read it while I worked, you know, give me a spurt of inspiration when I need it" he replied, causing the man to chuckle.

"Very well then, just make sure not to drop it. If you get horse shite on that, it ain't coming off. I've started on the right, so you take the left" he said, causing Kendall to nod as he made his way over to the first pen, belonging to one of the horses that he trained at Lathom Park. As he began changing the horse's water supply and salt lick, he began to read the letter.

' _November 8_ _th_ _1918  
_ _Dear Kendall,_

 _I don't know if you have heard, but there are talks of peace negotiations beginning, and it is safe to say that everyone back home is excited, especially your mother and sister.'_

Stopping there, Kendall moved over to the next pen, which was inhabited by Diamond, causing the blond's grin to widen. "Morning buddy" he said to the horse, which neighed back at him, as he placed the letter on the wooden fence before continuing to read it.

' _Everyone has said how much we have missed you, Dak, Carlos and Bitters, so it will be nice to have our little family back together. From what I've been told, if the news is true, then Camille and Lucy have already decided to have a party to celebrate'_

He'd finished Diamond's pen and moved onto the next one, continuing to read once again.

' _While I think it's a great idea, I said to the two of them that it should probably wait until you all got home, so that we got one. Their solution to that was to throw two parties, so expect…'_

Was as far as Kendall got before he heard a familiar buzzing coming from outside. Before he could even turn around, large bangs began to sound around the compound, followed quickly by a blaring alarm. Kendall quickly recognised what the alarm meant, and the blond began to fumble about, reaching for the gas mask that always hung from his belt. The blond had never had to use the device before, so he did struggle to put in on for a second, before finally getting his bearing. Reminding himself of his training, the blond also tried to cover any exposed skin when the stable doors were barged open again, and a nurse came running in.

"We need the horses prepped with wagons now!" she shouted, causing Kendall and Gustavo to nod as the pulled the horses from the pens and outside. As they stepped out of the stable, the blond noticed how some of the camp was on fire, and from the other side of the camp, he could see the yellow gas rising. Before he allowed panic to fully set in, he was quick to hitch the horse he was holding to the post, before getting a basic wagon connected to it.

As he did that, he noticed how the nurses were helping the patients out of the emergency hospital, with some hobbling while others were being carried out on stretchers. He also noticed how all the soldiers in the base were running towards the far wall, gun in hand and it was safe to say that he couldn't ignore the sound of gunfire that echoed around the base. The blond could tell that it was happening relatively close to the base, and that was enough for him to snap back into action.

The blond shook off his panic, as he ran back inside and grabbed another horse to get ready, and when he got outside again, he already noticed that the first wagon he prepped was full and getting ready to leave. Gustavo was right alongside him the entire time, preparing another horse so they were getting two done at a time. The two of them glanced over at each other and even through the gas mask, Kendall could see the fear that was present on Gustavo's face, not that he blamed him.

Kendall was completely freaking out at this moment, not knowing what was going on, or how much danger he was actually in, but as the injured people continued to flood out of the medical building, one thing became clear to him, all their lives depending on him getting the horses ready. As he continued to work, the familiar buzzing returned, followed by a whistling noise and ending with a large bang, causing the blond to jump. That was definitely too close for comfort, and while he couldn't tell exactly where the bomb had landed, he knew it was close because of the smell that was coming off of it.

With another horse connected to a wagon, it was quickly led out of the camp and down the main road towards the city of Verdun, and Kendall took the risk of a quick glance. Some of the base was completely destroyed with smoke rising from the buildings, but the majority of it was now becoming covered in the yellow gas that was also being dropped. The buzzing from the propeller engines continued to occur close to him, as did the whistle from the bombs and as Gustavo finished up the last wagon, the nurse closest to him spoke up.

"I think that's everyone" the nurse said, before getting confirmation from her superior.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked, his panic finally setting in and it was evident by his voice and face. As soon as he finished his sentence, another loud explosion went off, causing everyone to jump at the noise and Kendall could hear as the horses in the stable neighed.

"We know as much as you do. Everything was fine, then we heard the buzzing and the alarm. Protocol is to get the patients out, and back into the city and that's been done" she replied, causing Gustavo and Kendall to nod.

"Shit, the horses" Gustavo said quickly, before bolting back into the stable. Kendall went to follow, before he heard the buzzing again, and out of curiosity, he looked up to see a plane flying overhead dropping canisters. The sight was enough for him to snap back into gear and run into the stable. "I've got the back doors open. We need to get all of the horses out!" Gustavo shouted again, causing the blond to nod as he began to undo the latches on the pens. Once he was inside, he pulled the horse out of the pen, and faced it towards the back doors.

Another explosion sound outside, and with that, Kendall was quick to smack the horse of its arse. That caused the horse to rear up for a second, neighing as it did so, but once all four feet were on the ground, it was quick to bolt out of the back doors, in the general direction of the city. Kendall continued the process with the rest of the horses, Gustavo helping out as well, and when all 15 horses we're out of the stable, he took a sigh of relief, knowing he was just in time, as the yellow gas began to seep through the main stable door.

"Come on kid" Gustavo said, gesturing for Kendall to leave the stable as well, causing Kendall to nod, as he broke into a sprint. Just by standing close to the gas, Kendall could already feel his arm starting to itch slightly, but he knew that he had to resist the urge to scratch it, as well as continue to get away from it. As soon as he was outside, Gustavo locked the back door again, in the hopes of slowing the gas even further, and as they ran towards the main road, shouting began

FALL BACK! FALL BACK!" was being shouted over and over again, and Kendall witnessed how everyone began to run down the main road towards the exit of the camp. They all seemed to run as a large group, with the soldiers at the back of it continuing to shoot back but that all stopped when they saw another plane fly over. It was safe to say that everyone was prepared for death at that moment, and there was a communal scream when it began to drop the canisters, but as soon as they hit the ground and let out a bang, Kendall noticed how they were letting out smoke instead of explosives.

Still, the weapon proved very effective as everyone began to stumble around in what the general consensus agreed to as the right direction, and as the crowd started to move, Kendall couldn't help but notice how everyone was struggling to see in the situation, with people falling to the ground as they tripped, or were even pushed by others. Without a second thought, the blond ran to the closest person in need, and helped them up.

"Here, I got you!" Kendall shouted over the noise, causing the person to nod to him as he pulled them from the floor.

"Thank you!" The person yelled back, causing Kendall to nod as the person ran off, and he ran to the next person in need.

 _'_ _See, that's what I like about you Kendall, you always put everyone else first'_ James voice ran through the blonds as he helped the next person up, and despite the terrible situation he was in, he couldn't help the joy that came along with the thought. Well, that was until the familiar buzzing returned, as well as the whistling of the bombs that accompanied it. The explosion sounded a lot closer to him this time, so the blond was quick in his actions, as he continued to help anyone he could, making sure that they were all out of the smoke so that they could see clearly. That's when the shooting started, Kendall hearing the screams all from the base, and as bad as it was, he was relieved to hear that they were from the other side of the base.

"Quick, come on, I've got you" the blond said once again, as he helped the last few people through the gate. As soon as they were past, and the blond was certain that he couldn't see anyone else through the smoke, despite how difficult it was, he grabbed a hold of the main gate and began to pull it towards him, hoping to seal if off and buy everyone else a few more minutes. The iron gate was heavy, meaning that the blond put all of his effort into closing it, but as soon as it was done so, a surge of pride swelling through him at the thought that he had protected all of those people.

Of course, that was until the shooting started again as the planes flew over the base, dropping even more bombs. Letting go off the handle, Kendall spun around in the hopes that he could see some sort of shelter that he could hide in, and although it was very difficult through the smoke, he was just able to make out a small box. As he got closer to the location, the blond was quick to notice that it was the checkpoint for getting into the base, and he decided to wait out the smoke until it had cleared so that he hopefully had a better chance of getting out.

Once inside, the blond was quick to crouch down against the wall, hoping to hide from anyone that passed, and he listened to what was doing on. Gunfire took up the most of his receptors, with that seeming to happen all around him but he also noticed the buzzing of the aeroplanes as well as the explosions that seemed to follow them. He took a quick glance out one of the windows and noticed how another dogfight was occurring, but it wasn't over the fort like he was expecting but instead about a mile out. He watched as an enemy plane was shot down, and breathed out a sigh of relief, hoping that he could just wait this out.

As the smoke began to dissipate, Kendall's view was finally clear, and he took another glance out of his haven, this time starting down into the city of Verdun itself, and he had to suppress a gasp at what he saw. He could see a lot of smoke rising from the buildings, some on fire while others were just rumble on the ground and he was quick to pull himself away from that view, crouching back down so he was out of view. Despite the fact that the city was in ruins, he knew that it was his best bet of survival and that he needed to get there. Any soldiers that had made it out would have travel there, and that's also where the nurses would have gone with the patients. It was also the first location that rescue would be sent to. The blond was quick to take another glance out at the city, as he began to guess how long it would take him to get there.

The base was a 5 minute car ride from the city, meaning that it was probably about a 25 minute walk, so if he ran, he could probably make it in about 15 if he really pushed himself. As the blond mentally prepared himself to do that, he started to hear voices coming from outside, and while he couldn't understand them, he definitely knew that they were the enemy. He began to panic slightly but when he realised that he should stay quiet, he covered his mouth with his hand and tried to remain as quiet as possible. With fire raging close to him, he hoped it would be enough to mask some of his noise, but if he could hear them, then they could definitely hear him.

Taking another deep breath, Kendall began to look around in the small space he was in, hoping to find himself a weapon, and he couldn't help the small sigh of relief that left his mouth when he saw a pistol sat on the second shelf down of a desk. As quietly as he could, the blond reached over to the gun and grabbed it, causing a few memories of training to surface. It had been a year since the blond had actually held a weapon, and he'd forgotten the weight of it in his hand.

He also began to recall how to fire the weapon, and the first thing that blond checked was how many bullets it had. To his surprise, he found that the weapon was fully loaded, and the safety was off. As he calmed his breathing once again, his ears focused back onto the voices, or therefore lack of, and with another bout of bravery he snuck a glance. This time this sigh of relief was justified when he noticed that only one guard remained, and at the moment, he was looking away from the blond, facing towards the camp.

 _'You can do this Kendall. Just stay quiet, and you won't have to fire the gun. All you need to do it sneak into the ditch on the side of the road, and you can get away'_ He prepared himself, taking a few more deep breaths as he did so. With one last breath, he quickly glanced up again, noticing that the guard was still looking away and as quietly as he could, he made his way out of the check in box he was in. As soon as he was outside, the blond was quick to make his way to the front of the box, facing towards the city, and when he finally reached the location, he let out another sigh of relief. He was one step closer to safety and all he had to do now was cross the road and get into the ditch. He peeked around the corner once again, seeing that the guard was still facing away, and the blond took his chance as he ran for the other side of the road.

All was going well, until he heard a small piece of glass crunch under his foot, and from that moment on, everything seemed to go into slow motion, as he watched the soldier spin on his heels and raise his gun at Kendall. In a split second decision, Kendall raised the gun of his own when a gunshot rung out from in between them. For that moment, Kendall was unsure of who shot the gun, and where the bullet was but time seemed to catch up to him as he watched the soldier jolt slightly before falling down onto his back. By the time Kendall had noticed what he had done, he was down in the ditch on the other side of the road.

 _'Oh shit, oh shit, what have I done?"_ the blond began to panic, dropping the gun on the ground in front of him giving the item daggers like it had fired itself. _'I fucking shot someone. I killed someone. Someone is dead because of me. Someone with a family'_ The thoughts began to cycle through his head, causing a few tears to well in his eyes. That's when the self-justification came in. _'I had to do it. It had to be done. I had to protect myself, and if I didn't shoot him, he would have shot me. It was just self-defence, that's all'_ He began to reason, but he snapped back into reality when he heard shouting coming from inside the camp.

Leaving the gun on the floor, Kendall ran down the ditch and towards the city as fast as he could, trying his best to ignore the shouting that was happening from behind him. As he got further down the road, his body began to slow slightly but his mind was still running at a million miles an hour and he forced himself to go fast knowing that he was still so far away from his final location, and his safety. Kendall must have sprinted for about 5 minutes by this point, and while he was further away from the base, he still wasn't as close to the city as he needed to be.

Knowing he couldn't go much further the blond stopped to catch his breath, when he began to hear neighing that sounded like it was close to him. At first, the blond convinced himself that he was going mad, that this was his punishment for shooting that man at the base, and that he deserved it completely. However, the neighing continued to get closer to him, so he decided to see if it was real or not, mostly so he could know if he was crazy. As he poked his head out of the ditch, he saw a horse a little way down the road, and just by looking at the animal, he could tell who it was.

"Diamond?" Kendall questioned, running up to said horse which neighed as he got even closer to it. The blond couldn't believe his luck as he reached out and began to pat the horse, like he had done many times. Diamond seemed to neigh at the contact, pushing his head forward slightly as if to greet the blond. "What are you doing here. Scratch that, let's get out of here" he said to the horse, before he pulled himself up onto the horse's back. The blond was quick to grab onto the horse's mane as the two of them began to run towards the city. At this time, the blond really couldn't believe his luck at the situation, knowing that the odds were definitely stacked against him, but he didn't care at this point.

When he finally got into the city, Kendall noticed how everyone was gathered together, looking after some of the injured from the bombing. "Fuck, Kendall?" he heard a voice speak up, and he looked around to see Gustavo was staring at him wide eyed.

"Gustavo!" Kendall shouted back, hopping off of Diamond and running up to the larger man.

"I thought we'd lost you! The reinforcements in the city came and collected everyone they could but I couldn't see you anywhere!" he replied, pulling the blond into a hug, one that he was quick to return.

"I got lost in the smoke but found a place to hide. I managed to sneak out of there, and when I was running, I saw Diamond stood in the middle of the road" he replied, pulling back.

"Yeah, he lost him a while ago. Thank god your safe though" Gustavo replied, holding Kendall's shoulder in relief. For that moment, everything seemed fine, but that was only until the buzzing returned.

"Find shelter!" a voice spoke up, and once again, everyone ran towards one of the buildings.

But as the whistle sounded, and the explosion followed, Kendall felt a wave of energy pass over him, and within seconds of it hitting, his vision blackened.

* * *

 **Dun dun dunnnnnn! So of course I had to leave it on a cliff hanger! So, yeah, this whole chapter was about the assault on Kendall's camp, and while the blond made it out of there alive, will he survive this?**

 **I want to say a massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11 and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm glad you all enjoyed it! That whole year did pass quite quickly and I'm glad that you all enjoyed the bonding between him and Gustavo.**

 **I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Love, James but until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	23. Chapter 23: Waiting

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So, after the cliff hanger at the end of the last chapter, I say let's crack on shall we?**

* * *

"Following the failed attack at Verdun, the Imperial German Army have signed an armistice with the Allied Forces. Information about the attack is still very limited and as soon as we hear more, we will let you know." The radio spoke, causing James to let out a sigh as he wiped the tears from his eyes. That was the same news that was reported last week, and he still knew nothing about Kendall's situation.

So far, all the brunet had learned was that the attack on Verdun was a last ditch effort for the German's. With peace being negotiated, it seemed that many Generals on the front line weren't happy, after being told that they were winning on most, if not all fronts, so they decided to take actions into their own hands. From what James had been told, the army base had been gassed and bombed first, in order to cause damage to the resistance in that area, and once the enemy had confirmed that most of the survivors had made it into the city, bombing runs also began there in order to finish the job.

So far, the news had been reluctant to share anything that had gone on, especially since the armistice was only signed a few days ago, meaning that James, along with Katie and Jennifer were being left in the dark. They all had no clue if Kendall was alive, if he was safe or when they would hear from him next, so it was trying times for all of them. James had spent the majority of the nights that week crying himself to sleep over the attack, and for some unknown reason, he seemed to blame himself most of all. He kept telling himself that he should have tried harder to stop the blond from being sent off, and if he did, then they all wouldn't be in this position. No matter how many times Camille told him how ridiculous it was, he stood by it, placing all of the blame into his shoulders.

When James zoned back in, he heard that the radio broadcast was finishing up, so he quickly turned the device off and took another deep breath as he did so. It seemed that all the crying the brunet has been doing left him feeling parched, so he pulled himself off of the chair and began to make his way into the kitchen, as the news replayed itself over and over again. Hopefully there would be some news, and soon, as the brunet wanted to know what has happened to his boyfriend, as Kendall said before he left, over a year ago. Tears welled in his eyes as he walked through the kitchen door, and he was relieved to see that no one was in the room. The brunet was quick to grab a pint of water, and as he leaned against the worktop, he took a massive gulp.

"Someone's thirsty" Camille said, causing the brunet to nod as he pulled the glass away. "Any news?" she asked, causing him to shake his head as he glanced down at the floor.

"Nothing, only the same was what they told us last week. It's killing me not knowing what's going on. Even father can't get anything from anyone, and he's running for Governor of the state. No one is telling us anything" he replied, before talking another large gulp of his water, as if to try and push down the emotions that were threatening to surface again.

"I'm sure he is fine James. I mean, if he wasn't then surely, we would have heard something by now"

"The attack was only a week ago. They probably haven't found all of the bodies yet. You heard the news Camille, 70% of the city was bombed before the planes were finally shot down. That's a lot of people dead" James replied, causing her to sigh as she walked over to him.

"Being pessimistic isn't going to help anyone, James, especially his mother and sister. They are relying on you for support and you need to be there for them. Try to stay positive until you hear otherwise, because if you don't, you'll just be living in a state of misery" she replied, causing the brunet to nod.

"I'll try" was all he said, before sipping from his glass again. Camille gave him another pat on his shoulder before getting back to work, leaving the brunet alone with his thoughts once again. Camille had said that they would have heard something by now if Kendall was gone, but if he wasn't, then surely the same thing would stand right? The brunet shook those thoughts out of his head as he placed the glass into the sink.

Camille was right about one thing, and that was that Jennifer and Katie were replying on him, and he wasn't going to let them down.

Especially after the promise he had make Kendall.

* * *

"Jordan Carter, Jackson Watts, Andrew Read, Harley Duncan, Luca Holmes, Franco Johnson, Roland Jordan, Darian Bennett, Sullivan Shannon, and Beckham Peters. These are the most recent causalities that have been released following the war, but please do keep in mind that bodies are still being recovered, and that the authorities are working as fast as they can to inform you as to what has happened. May god have mercy on you all" the radio presenter said, the transmission cutting off when he had finished, causing James to let out another sigh.

It had been a month since the bombing, taking them into early December, and they had still to hear about Kendall's fate. James religiously sat by the radio this time everyday in order to hear who else had been found, and so far, you could say he was grateful that he hadn't heard Kendall's name come up.

That was off set, however, by the fact that only a few days ago, he'd heard Reginald Bitters be announced causing the estate to go into a state of mourning over the loss of one of their own. James hadn't taken the news particularly well, especially consider that Bitters had been with him since he was a little boy, and had been there with James for most things, alongside his nanny. Taking a deep breath, as he wiped the tears from his eyes at the memory, the brunet pulled himself from the chair, and made his way into the kitchen once again, this time being greeted by Jennifer who was sat at the table.

As she heard the door go, her head shot up and she gave him a small smile. "Any news?" she asked, causing James to shake his head.

"I didn't hear his name" he replied, as he took the seat next to her. He was quick to wrap his arms around Jennifer when he saw the red-haired woman break into tears.

"This is somehow worse" she began, James giving her a squeeze as he continued. "I mean, if we knew he was alive or dead, then at least we could get ready for him to get back, or mourn over his loss, but this suspense is killing me. It's like…" she broke down again, James pulling her into his chest as he replied.

"It's like there's a small glimmer of hope left, just waiting for the good news to come but there another small part of you know that it never will, and it's just a matter of time before you hear his name" he replied, feeling her nod into his chest.

"We would have missed his 21st Birthday. I mean, I know we sent him a letter, same as last year, but this was a big one James. He's 21, and we didn't get to celebrate it with him before he was out fighting a stupid war that we wanted no part of" she continued to cry, as James now moved one of his hands away, so he could wipe the tears that had gathered in his eyes as well.

"I know, trust me I know, and if he returns, then we will throw him a kick ass birthday part to make up for it ok. I promise you we will" James felt Jennifer nod into his chest once again, before she pulled out and reached for some kitchen roll that was sat on the table.

Wiping her eyes, she spoke up again. "I want you to be honest with me, do you think he made it? I mean, we don't even know if he made it out of the base" she asked, causing James to glance down at the table as a small frown settled on his face.

"I think that Kendall would have done his best to try and get out, knowing that we were waiting for him at home" James replied, Jennifer sniffling as she wiped her eyes. James could see by her facial expression that she wasn't happy with that answer, but it was all James was willing to give her at the moment. He didn't want to think that the blond was dead, as that would mean that he would have lost two people to his conflict. Two people that meant a lot to him, and who it will be very difficult to replace. With that thought, it was the brunet's turn to burst into tears, causing Jennifer to move next to him, much like he had done to her.

"I'm so sorry James, I shouldn't have asked it"

"We can't lose him as well. He needs to be ok" James replied, sobbing into her shoulder as she rubbed small circles on his back.

"I'm sorry James. I know losing Bitters has been hard on you, and I shouldn't have asked you such a difficult question" she continued, causing him to pull back and rub his hand over his eyes.

"No, it's fine, I'm fine, I think I just need to few moments alone" he replied, before standing up from his seat. Almost like he was on autopilot, the brunet ignored Jennifer calling out to him as he made his way up to his study, where he laid himself down on the sofa and let the dam on his emotions break once again.

The brunet couldn't help but curl into a ball as he clutched onto a pillow, crying over the loss of his older friend, as well as the probable loss of his boyfriend.

* * *

Today was a day that James had been looking forward to to quite some time, well, since it was announced in early January, but since then, he couldn't stop thinking about it. Today was the day when the soldiers were coming home from the war, and boy was he excited.

They still hadn't heard anything about Kendall, but he was trying to stay optimistic about what had happened, ergo his excitement was coming from the fact that he was going to see his boyfriend again. But, as much as James didn't want to admit it, today was also the day that if Kendall didn't return, he'd have to fully accept what that meant, that Kendall was gone. He couldn't bring himself to say the word 'dead' at the moment, because it sounded so final and he was trying to stay positive, but the point still remained.

Anyway, the brunet pushed the negative thoughts away as he made his way into the kitchen for some breakfast. Everyone was gathered around the table, and when he walked in they all flashed him a massive smile.

"Morning" Jennifer said, gesturing for James to take a seat at the table, which was already covered with different types of food. _'Clearly Jennifer is stress baking'_ James thought to himself, not that he could blame her considering that the brunet was currently stockpiling his plate, about to stress eat.

"Morning" he replied, before taking a bite out of a crumpet which he had to stop himself from moaning over the taste.

"So, you ready for today?" Camille asked, causing him to nod as he took a sip of orange juice.

"Yeah, it will be nice to have them back home again" he replied, but it was clear that the message was carrying a subtle undertone as not everyone would be back home again. James was still grieving over the loss of Bitters, but he as going better since a month had passed and he'd learnt how to cope with the pain. Sure, there were still days where he missed the man incredibly, but when he felt like that now, he would talk to someone about it rather than locking himself away. That way, he was able to get all of his hurt and frustration out, instead of keeping it bottle up. The brunet shook the thoughts out of his head once again, as he tried to remain positive. Luckily, Lucy spoke up, drawing his attention.

"Well, I for one will be grateful to have them back. No offense Jennifer, but no one can beat Carlos' steak" she said, causing the older woman to chuckle at the news.

"None taken. You've met my daughter, and know I've been told worse"

"Hey!" Katie said, a small pout growing on her face, causing everyone to chuckle. For a brief moment, everything was alright again, and everyone seemed to forget about what today would mean. Of course, that moment was only very brief, and the tension of the undiscussed topic seemed to raise over the table again. Conversation was dead from that point on, as everyone reflected on what today would do to them as a 'family.'

It would either make or break them, and James wasn't ready to find out.

* * *

The whole drive down to the train station, the brunet tried to remain positive, thinking about how it would feel if…when he saw Kendall again.

Would he smile and pull the blond into a hug?

Would he cry and pull the blond into a hug?

Either way, James was sure that he was going to pull the blond into a hug and he knew that it would take all of his restrain to stop himself from kissing the blond right there and then, to stop him was kissing those soft lips, and taking his rough, yet soft hands into his own as their bodies rub against each other for the first time in over a year.

As much as James was enjoyed the day dream he was experiencing of him kissing Kendall right then and there, like some sort of romance movie where they dip the girl as they kiss, the brunet had to remove the thoughts from his head mostly due to the growing issue he was facing. The one in his pants.

So, as he pulled into the car park at Oakland train station, the brunet was quick to adjust himself to make his issue less visible, as well as provide himself with some thoughts that he knew would help kill his boner. Feeling that the issue was appropriately dealt with, although the threat still loomed, James made his way out of the car and into the station, where he found what looked to be hundreds of people waiting for their loved ones, not that he could blame them.

There were people of all ages, shapes and sizes, but most of them seemed to be families, each waiting for their father and husbands to come home. James couldn't help but feel slightly out of place, but then he reminded himself that he was in the same position as most of these women, as he was also waiting for his loved one to come home, if he came home. Again, the brunet shook the negative thoughts of out his head, before turning to one of the women waiting.

"Excuse me, how much longer until the train pulls in?" he asked, causing the woman to turn to him with a rather confused expression on her face. When James raised an eyebrow at her, she was quick to back track.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting to see a man waiting here." She said, causing James to raise his eyebrow at her once again.

"Why not?"

"Well, surely you should have been off fighting?" she asked, causing him to shake his head.

"Anyway, the train?" he replied, giving the woman slight daggers as he ignored her answer.

"Should be another five minutes" she replied, causing James to nod, before walking away from her.

He was slightly annoyed by her question, but he decided not to let it get to him and instead tried to remain positive, no matter how difficult it was seeming.

* * *

When the train finally pulled into the station, the whole area seemed to be overcome with everyone clapping at the returning heroes, and James found himself getting nervous once again as to how he would greet everyone. So, when the doors opened, the brunet found himself taking a deep breath, watching as all the soldiers ran out to their families, and engulfed them in a hug. Everyone around him seemed so happy, squealing as they saw their loved one and James waited for the moment that would be him.

"James?" he heard his voice called out, and when he looked over with excitement, he saw Carlos and Dak come running towards him. Although he was slightly disappointed, he didn't let that show on his face as he smiled at the two, walking closer as the approached and when they reached him, he was quick to engulf them into a hug.

"Hey guys" he said, as the two of them squeezed him a little tighter. "It's so good to see you alive and well" he continued, before pulling back and seeing the small smile they had on their faces now.

"We heard about Bitters" Carlos said, causing him to frown as he now looked down at the floor.

"We're so sorry. We know he was with you since you were a little boy" Dak continued, causing James to nod, as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Thanks guys" he replied, before clearing his throat in order to try and get rid of any linger emotions it had in it.

Positive Thoughts only remember.

"Have you heard anything about Kendall?" They both shook their head at the action, causing tears to threaten James once again.

"We assumed he was on the train somewhere. Why, did something happen?" Carlos asked, James nodding as a response before he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"He was station in Verdun, and we haven't heard anything from him since the city was attacked"

Carlos was quick to close the gap between them once again, pulling James into a hug as he knew what Kendall meant to the brunet. Dak seemed to stand there slightly awkwardly while this was happening but that was the least of James' concerns at the moment.

"If it helps, there is another train coming later today. There's a lot of soldiers trying to get back west so we all couldn't fit on one train. Carlos and I got lucky, as we found each other when the transferred at Denver" Dak replied, as Carlos pulled out of the hug, causing the brunet to rummage around in his pockets.

"Here, you too drive back, I think I'll wait then, and get a taxi later" he replied as he handed the keys to Dak.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it's not fair to keep the two of you waiting. Plus, I think Camille is excited to see you" James replied, causing Dak to go a bright red, something that Carlos nodded at.

"Told you" the Latino mumbled, causing James to chuckle as Dak whacked him on the shoulder.

"Come on, let's go. See you later James, and good luck" Dak replied, the brunet waving them off as they walked.

While he was trying to stay positive, it definitely wasn't easy, and it was going to get a whole lot more difficult now that he was going to be left alone with his thoughts until the next trained arrived.

Dak was right to wish him good luck.

* * *

 **So there we have it! Dak and Carlos are safe home, but unfortunately Bitters didn't make it, bless him. And to make everything worse, there's still no news on Kendall, bless the blond!**

 **I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm so glad that you all loved that Diamond saved James! I knew it was massively cheesy, but I couldn't help but include it! Of course, you'll have to wait until the next chapter until I reveal the fate of Kendall, so stick around for that! 😈**

 **I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Love, James but until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	24. Chapter 24: Truth

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So, last time I left you with a cliffhanger, so I feel it's only fair, we get straight back into it! So, let's crack on!**

* * *

James sat at the train station for what felt like days, waiting for the next army train to arrive, even though he didn't know the exact time it was going to get in. Every time something pulled into the station, the brunet was quick to jump up and wait, only to be disappointed when he found out that it wasn't the train he was looking for. The brunet refused to leave the bench that he was sat on, even for food as he was adamant that he wasn't going to miss this, that he was going to be there if Kendall returned…when Kendall returned.

He was still trying to hold onto his positive thought philosophy, but his negative thoughts seemed to bang against the mental wall he had put up, and every once in a while, one would manage to sneak in.

 _'What happens if he doesn't come home'_

 _'He is going to come home'_ He'd think back, almost like his mind has now become his worst enemy, betraying at every step of the journey.

And as he sat there, he couldn't help but notice the weird looks he was getting from everyone, not that he cared. He was there for one reason, and for one reason only, to see his boyfriend return from the war, and he'd be damned if he was going to let a few weird looks stop him. He'd missed over a year, two birthdays, and two Christmases with the blond, so nothing was going to stop him from doing this.

The brunet thought back to what he was thinking in the car, about what he would do when he saw Kendall, and he was certain that he was going to cry, especially after all of this, and he didn't feel ashamed of that at all.

He only hoped that everyone around him would be doing the same thing.

* * *

It was about 4:30 when people started to flood into the train station again, and James could only assume that the train was coming in soon. The brunet was quick to get up from his bench and make his way over to the yellow line. He wanted to be as close to the train as possible when it pulled in, as he didn't want to wait any longer. He wanted to get the blond, wrap him in his arms and hug him as much as he possibly could while whispering how much he actually loved him into his ear, and how he was going to ensure that nothing would ever separate them again.

So, as the train finally pulled into the station, and the clapping began, James was quick to join in and take a deep breath. The doors opened, the sound echoing around the train station, as well as the following footsteps and the squeals as families were reunited. James tried not to let that get to him as he remained focused on his own mission but that was hard when everyone around him was getting what he wanted to bad.

Five minutes passed, and the brunet was still holding strong, his head held high as he waited. The people around him had seemed to disappear but he was still aware that he wasn't alone in the train station. Soldiers were still pouring out of the carriage, although it was at a slower rate now, and people were still getting what the brunet wanted and craved so badly.

Ten minutes passed, and the train station around him was practically empty with only a few families left, and a few linger soldiers getting off of the train. That was it, his mental positivity wall broke, allowing a cascade of negative thoughts to flood in.

 _'He didn't make it. The blond didn't make it'_ James fell to his knees as he began to cry over the loss of the blond.

After everything, after all they had been through, after all James had planned for the two of them, and he hadn't made it.

Kendall had died during a war that the two of them wanted no part in whatsoever, and after all of James' efforts to make sure that the blond was safe and happy, he'd died in the end anyway.

He didn't care how he looked in that moment, on his knees as he cried into his hands.

He didn't care about the weird whispers that were occurring about him, everyone questioning why he was in such a state, and he certainly didn't care for the tapping on his shoulder. It was probably one of the workers telling him he was making a scene, and that he needed to leave. But, as the tapping persisted, the brunet became more aggravated by it, before he finally hit his snapping point.

With his voice, full of tears and sadness, he managed to grit out a "what", which sounded very harsh and would probably get the person around him to leave.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me" an angelic voice spoke up, one that James knew too well and as he pulled his hands away from his eyes, he was faced with the best sight he had ever seen.

Kendall was on his knees in front of him, a smile gracing his face, and a sling holding his arm. That was enough to snap James out of his state, and straight into his protective mode.

"Kendall, you're alive! What, what happened to you?" he asked, reaching out to touch the sling slightly as he stared at the white piece of cloth like it was the devil.

"I, um, I broke my arm" the blond replied, James looking back up at him.

"You broke your arm?" he asked, causing the blond to nod, before leaning forward.

"As much as I want to explain what happened to you right now, I'd rather be in your arms." He continued, and that was enough for James, the brunet quickly, yet gently pulling Kendall into a hug, one that the blond was quick to return as he wrapped his good arm around James' neck, trying to pull himself as close to the brunet as possible.

Tears now welled in both their eyes, and they had no problem letting them spill as they held each other for the first time in over a year. The two of them remained like that until they heard a train whistle go off, and they took that as a sign to leave. As much as James wanted to stay with Kendall like that forever, he also knew that were other things he could be doing with the blond, although a lot of them were off the table due to his broken arm. James helped Kendall pull himself from the floor and was quick to grab his bag as well.

"You don't need to carry that for me" the blond said, a blush settling onto his face at the kind act that James had performed. The blush alone was enough for James to find himself going weak at the knees, but he remained strong as they walked.

"God, I missed that blush so much" he whispered into Kendall's ear, causing the blond's blush to deepen even further, something James grinned at as they got outside. The brunet was quick to hail a taxi and after the two of them had settled into the back seat, conversation sparked up once again, although with the driver in the front, it remained fairly vague. "So, what happened? I heard about the attack at Verdun, but we haven't heard anything since" James asked, causing Kendall to frown slightly as he recalled the memory. It certainly wasn't something that he wanted to talk about, but for the sake of James, he did.

"So, it was the 8th November and I'd just gotten your letter about the peace talks. I went into the stable, and as I worked I was reading it, when we heard the planes fly over and the alarm go off. I put on my gas mask, and one of the nurses came running in saying that we needed to get the horses hooked up to the wagon. So, me and Gustavo got a couple horses and when we got outside, I froze at the sight of it. Some of the base was on fire, and on the other side of the compound was the mustard gas that they had dropped" Kendall began, sniffling slightly as he tried to keep his voice steady despite the tears that were forming.

"So, we got the horses sorted and ready, and when all the wounded were out, we then got the horses out as well before we finally got outside. I could hear gun fire on the opposite side of the base, so I began to run for the main exit when more planes few over, dropping smoke grenades this time. No one could see anything, so I began to help people up off the floor to get them to safety. When that was done, and everyone was safe, I closed the main gates to the base, but it was too late for me to run, so I dashed into the check-in box at the Fort. When it finally did, I could hear talking and I knew it wasn't from a friendly, so I searched around for a gun, in order to protect myself. It was fully loaded, so I decided to try and make a break for it" he continued, James nodding along the whole time as he began to pull the blond into another hug. He could see how emotion the blond was getting, but when he suggested that he stop, Kendall just shook his head as he continued.

"I sneaked out of the booth, but as I began to make my way across the road into a ditch, the guy turned to me. I didn't mean to James, I swear I didn't mean to do it but he aimed at me, and I aimed back and then there was a bang and… he fell James, he fell to the ground, but I didn't mean to do it, I didn't" James held the blond as he continued to cry, as he attempted to soothe him.

"It's ok Kendall, I believe you it's ok. I know you didn't mean to" he replied, Kendall shaking in his arms. James could hear the blond taking a deep breath as he continued, his voice now shaky.

"So, when I got into the ditch and realised what I had done, I dropped the gun and ran towards the city, hoping that I could just get away. About half way, I started to hear neighing and at first, I thought that I was going crazy, but as I got closer, I saw that there was a horse grazing at the side of the road, and guess who it was" he asked, causing James to raise an eyebrow at him "Diamond" Kendall said, causing James to let out a soft chuckle. "So, I got onto him as fast as I could, and I rode into the city. I thought I was safe when I got there, and I even met back up with Gustavo, and that's when the bombing happened. I heard a large bang go off, and it felt like I was hit with a wall of energy before I passed out" The blond took another deep breath, James hearing as he began to calm himself down slightly before continuing.

"I woke up in a hospital, completely confused by what was going on. When I asked a nurse, she said that I'd been hit by a small piece of debris from the explosion, causing me to fall and I landed on my arm causing it to break. I was told that it would only take about 6 weeks to heal, but that I wasn't allowed to move otherwise the break would set wrong. So, I was bed ridden for 6 weeks, and when we were told that we could go home, my arm was basically healed so they gave me the sling" he said, causing James to nod.

"That's why you couldn't write, your arm was broken" he said, causing Kendall to nod.

"And it's healed now, but by the time it was, I was on the boat coming home so there was no way for me to send a letter"

"So, do you still have to wear the sling now?"

"Not really, but I was sat next to a doctor on the train journey back, and I didn't want to argue with him, so I put it on. I told him about it being 8 weeks since it was done, and he said that it should be ok for me to use but not extensively or whatever that means" the blond replied, causing James to chuckle.

"It means a lot. He's saying that you shouldn't use it a lot" the brunet replied, glancing out of the window to see that they were driving onto the estate.

"It's good to be home" Kendall said, as he met James' glance, blushing as he did so.

"Yeah, it really is" James replied, the two of them having a silent conversation with their eyes.

It wasn't just home they were talking about.

* * *

After settling the fare with the driver, the two of them made their way into the house, and as soon as the door opened, Kendall was greeted with everyone staring at him. Jennifer broke into tears at the sight of her son, running towards him and much like James did, she was gentle as she pulled him into a hug.

"Oh my god Kendall, you're alive!" she cried into his shoulder and he cried into hers. Katie had joined the two of them in the hug, and even she was crying.

"I'm ok mum, I'm ok, and I'm home now" he replied, hugging them closer as he heard James speak.

"Why don't we give you some time to catch up" he said, flashing Kendall a small smile before ushering everyone into the kitchen, allowing the Knights some privacy.

"I missed you so much"

"We missed you too sweetie, but it's ok, you're home now"

"I'm so sorry I didn't write to you, I should have written to you"

"Sweetie, you hurt your arm you couldn't have done anything" Jennifer replied, before pulling out slightly. "What did happen to your arm?"

"I broke it during the bombing at Verdun" he replied, causing Jennifer to break into tears further.

"I'm so sorry sweetie that you had to go through that"

"It's alright mum, it's not your fault. There was nothing you could have done" he replied, pulling her tighter into a hug. "Come on, let's go to your room so we can have a proper catch up" he added, causing the two women to nod as they finally pulled away.

As the Knights made their way through the kitchen, they saw how everyone was chatting around the table, and Kendall realised how much he truly had missed this. He had nothing like this during the war and he was so grateful that he was back. However, there was one thing that he still wanted.

"Um, James, do you think you could join us?" he asked, causing the brunet to nod as he got up and began to walk towards them. When they were together and walking down the corridor towards his mum and sister's room, the blond leaned into James and began to whisper. "I want to tell my mum and sister about us" he began, causing James to raise an eyebrow at him. "I want to be truthful with them. If the war has proved anything, it's that I want to be with you forever, and I don't want to hide that from them" he said, blushing as he spoke.

James just smiled at the blond, loving that he was back so much, before he replied. "Ok, but you have to tell them"

"Really, you're ok with this?" Kendall asked, slightly shocked.

"Yeah, I feel exactly the same way, so it's only fair we tell them. But you should be one to do it" he replied, causing the blond to nod. As they walked into the room, Katie and Jennifer settled onto one bed, while Kendall and James settled onto another and suddenly the blond was overcome with nervousness. Still, he stood by what he said, and after taking a deep breath, he began to speak.

"Mum, Katie, I want to tell you something" he began, causing the two girls to nod. "But I want you to promise that you won't freak out ok?" he added, causing them both to nod once again. He felt James place his hand onto the small of his back, and that was all the encouragement he needed. After another, final deep breath, he spoke. "James and I are together, like boyfriends" he said, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He couldn't help the smile that formed on his face, as he shuffled closer to James, as if to make a point.

"Oh sweetie, thank you for telling us" Jennifer began, flashing him a smile. "But, we already knew" she continued, causing the blond's smile to falter.

"You knew?" he asked, causing his mother to nod.

"Yeah, James told us. Well, James told Katie, then Katie told me, and then James told me" Jennifer replied, as he tried to back track who told who. That caused Kendall to shuffle away from James slightly, his facial expression shock as he looked up at the brunet.

"You told them, and you didn't tell me you did? Why didn't you tell me when I said about it?" he asked, causing James to chuckle.

"Ok, firstly, I told Katie when I was bringing them to California about a year and a half ago, and I didn't know she told your mother. Then, I told your mum when I got your first letter, well, she told me she knew. And I didn't tell you when you asked me just then because it was your thing to do and I wanted you to do it" James replied, trying to pull the blond into a hug, which was quickly rejected as the blond pouted slightly. "Hey, don't be mad at me. At least I didn't tell Carlos and Camille" James added, causing the blond's eyes to widen.

"You know about that?"

"Yeah, Camille told me. So, we were both keeping secrets" he replied, causing the blond to gain a small smile as he moved closer to James this time, allowing the brunet to pull him into a hug.

"Ugh, that was awkward" Katie said, causing everyone in the room to chuckle before Jennifer spoke up.

"Anyway, now that that is out of the way, why don't you tell us what happened to your arm?" she prompted, causing Kendall to nod as he readied himself to tell the story.

* * *

 **So there we have it! Kendall is ok, he's all safe but he arm was broken hence why he couldn't write! There was a lot of Kames in this chapter as well as Kendall sharing his story, and we also had Kendall finally confessing to Katie and Jennifer, who of course already knew, but still!**

 **I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and of course, you all seemed to love the cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter! I'm glad you all liked the James and Jennifer chat as well, as that was nice to write, well apart from the bit where James broke down, but still!**

 **Anyway, I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Love, James, but until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	25. Chapter 25: Unity

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! Thank you all so much for the support on the last chapter, and let's crack on with this one shall we?**

* * *

The four of them seemed to stay in Jennifer and Katie's room for the rest of the evening, with them sharing everything that had gone on within the last year. Kendall shared his experiences at the camp on the east coast, telling them how his training was, and the friendship he made with Freight Train, before moving onto Lathom Park, telling them how he enjoyed his brief veterinary training as well as why Lakefield Estate is so much better than the park, causing them all to chuckle.

He then shared some of his experiences in Verdun, but the blond found that it was difficult for him to talk about. Every time he said something, his brain would shoot back to an awful things that he witnessed, causing him to pale and tense up. Luckily, James was able to steer the conversation away from that, explaining what had gone on at the estate instead, allowing the blond peace of mind and a distraction. As Jennifer and Katie began to talk about what had happened with the two of them, Kendall found himself leaning into James, craving the touch of the brunet and wanting to get as close to him as possible. It was safe to say that the blond had done a lot of growing over the period he was away, and he found himself craving new sensations, especially after all the talks that he'd overheard during his training.

All of his bunk mates seemed to talk about who they had back home, something which Kendall was reluctant to talk about in the first place, but when they all started to be 'lads lads' and talk about their sexual experiences, Kendall found himself massively out of place knowing that he had never really experienced that. That one encounter he had with James seemed to ignite a new part of him that he'd never thought about before, and with the addition of the 'lads' talk, he was dying to try something out, especially now that he was back with James.

As Kendall leaned into the brunet, James couldn't help but accept it, wrapping his arms around the blond in order to pull him closer. There was no denying that James was in exactly the same boat as Kendall was, craving the touch of his boyfriend, especially since it had been about 2 years since he'd experienced anything sexually, well, minus the action with Kendall.

James was definitely a player back in his day, but ever since meeting Kendall, the brunet had refrained from such action, due to his devotion to the blond. There was no way that James was going to push Kendall into anything that the blond didn't want him to do but that doesn't mean he wasn't hoping from something to happen, especially when Kendall began to shift against him slightly causing James' dick to rub against the inside of his pants, the blond grinning at the action. The brunet was quick to glance around, hoping to find some sort of excuse and he was ecstatic when he saw the time.

"Well, we should probably get going. It's late" James said, finding a natural break in the conversation to do so, so it didn't look out of place.

"Yeah, we should probably let you sleep, I bet you've had a long day" Jennifer replied, before standing up and pulling Kendall into a tight hug. "I love you so much sweetie, and I'm so glad that you are home" she continued, before pulling out and placing a kiss onto his forehead. She then turned to James, pulling the brunet into a hug and kissing him on the cheek. "Night boys" she said once again, the two of them finally getting up from the bed and walking out of the room.

The two of them both seemed to shiver slightly as they stepped into the corridor, a cold breeze of air passing over them, causing them both to clutch to each other in warm. It was also entirely possible that they were just craving one another, and that they would make any excuse to touch, but the point still stands. With one single exchange, the two of them knew exactly where they were going, and as they discreetly held hands, they made their way out of the back door, closing it quietly as they did so. It was like the old times, with the two of them walking from the house and through the orchard together, and Kendall couldn't help the swell of memories that it brought with it.

* * *

"This was one of the things I thought about most, you know" Kendall began, pulling himself closer to James as if it was possible. "The two of us walking through the orchard together, with you holding me in your arms"

"I thought about it as well. About our first kiss, and how magical it was" James replied, glancing down to the blond and placing a small kiss onto his lips as if to try and recreate the memory. This was the first kiss that they had shared since they had gotten back together, and despite how quick it was, it was perfect for the moment. With a smile on their faces, they continued to talk down to the summer house, nothing being said. Nothing needed to be said between the two of them as they knew what the other was thinking. They were both thinking about how much they had missed each other, and how grateful they were that they could finally be together again. With the house coming into view, James finally spoke up again.

"I spent so much of my time down here when you were gone, and I even slept here most nights. It helped me feel closer to you"

"And I spent most nights reciting the alphabet, because I knew it would make to feel closer to you" Kendall replied, James placing another kiss onto his lips, but this one however, escalated very quickly. James quickly found himself against the door of the summer house as they began to make out. The brunet swiped his tongue over the blond's lips, causing Kendall to moan out at the sensation. James was quick to take advantage, thrusting his tongue into Kendall's mouth as they engaged in a battle of dominance. Every time Kendall moaned, James swallowed the noise, his hands now exploring Kendall's back as he raked his finger tips cross it. That was enough to cause Kendall to buck into him, their dicks grinding together only furthering their moans.

"We…need…the…key" James panted out in between kisses, and as if to turn him on more, Kendall began to trail kisses down James' body, starting with his neck. Sure, the brunet still had his clothes on, but he could feel the heat off of Kendall's lips as they kissed down his shirt, and onto his trousers. As if to taunt the brunet further, Kendall placed kisses either side of his crotch, and then continuously placed them on the inside of James' legs as he reached for the key under the mat.

James' brain was going haywire with the blond this close to his dick, so he didn't even realise that Kendall was unlocking the door himself, as the blond had to lean in to do it. When the door was finally unlocked, it seemed to buckle slightly under James' weight and opened inwards, causing the brunet to stumble back in surprise. That caused a giggle to emerge from Kendall, which only seemed to turn the brunet on further as he reached out to the blond and pulled him in with him.

"Impossible" James growled out, a clear reference to their first time down here, before he slammed his lips into Kendall's allowing the make out session to begin once again. As soon as Kendall was through the door, the blond kicked it closed, not caring how much noise it made as he fought James for dominance once again, their tongues swirling around in each other as they engaged in battle.

When James' hands landed on Kendall's ass however, and he gave it a squeeze, the blond gave up, moaning into James' mouth once again. Kendall in turn began to run his hands down James' shirt feeling the muscles that were firm beneath it, and when he returned the bottom of the shirt, he began to tug on it, a silent plea for James to remove the offensive object that limited their passion. James was quick to take the hint, giving Kendall's ass one last squeeze before pulling his hands away and out of the kiss. As the brunet pulled his shirt over his head, he noticed Kendall had done exactly the same thing, the two men now completely shirtless.

"God, I love you" James said, pulling the blond back into a kiss, their bare chests now rubbing against each other as they did so. Kendall gasped at the sensation of his nipples grazing over James' pecs causing the brunet to grin slightly as he made his next move. His hands were quick to come up to the blond's nipples, taking the buds in between his thumb and forefinger as he began to roll them together. His mouth moved away from the blond's, instead latching onto his neck and he began to suck and nibble on the skin available, marking the blond as his own. Kendall was overwhelmed with pleasure, feeling as his dick continued to harden in his pants, and when he felt James' doing the same thing, he knew he was at the verge of breaking.

"Fuck James! I need you" was all the blond was capable of saying as he began to tug on James' pants to try and get them off. The brunet chuckled as he continued his actions for a little while longer, but this time as he did so, he began to walk Kendall back towards the sofa. When the back of the blond's heel hit the object, James was quick to let him go from his grasp, allowing Kendall to fall down onto the object. As soon as Kendall's ass was on the sofa, James was down between the blond's leg causing Kendall to push his own trousers and pants down, James aiding him in any way he could. Kendall's dick sprang from the restrains at it's first chance of freedom, now standing upright from the blond's body and when James wrapped his hand around it, the blond gasped at the action before a moan also escaped his mouth.

"I want you to fuck me. I don't know how, but I want you to fuck me" Kendall moaned as James slowly stroked his dick, causing the brunet to chuckle.

"You sure?" James asked, causing the blond to nod almost desperately. "Ok, then slide down the sofa, and throw your legs over my shoulders" he continued, the blond quick to follow James' instruction so he was now flat on his back, James now at eye level with the blond's hole. James groaned at the sight of it, as he reached into his own trousers and quickly pulled his dick out, allowing the pulsing object to stand free. As James continued to stroke Kendall slowly, the brunet also began to suck on a couple of his fingers and if Kendall's wasn't completely overwhelmed with pleasure then he could have been curious as to what the brunet was going. Instead, he found himself pushing his head back, and arching his back due to the pleasure James was giving him.

"You ready?" James asked, to Kendall what seemed rather randomly, but the blond nodded anyway causing him to feel a slight pressure at his ring. Before he could question it, he felt James' lubricated finger push in and that caused him to groan through a mixture of pleasure and pain, the intrusion not unwelcome but also not yet comfortable. James also seemed to groan at his own action, feeling how tight Kendall's hole was as it clenched around his finger, causing the brunet to throw his head back as well. "Relax, it's ok" James spoke up, using his free hand to begin rubbing soothing circles on Kendall's leg as the brunet shuffled forward once again.

Without saying anything else, Kendall saw James raise his head and engulf his cock, causing the blond to moan out at the tight, wet heat he was now experiencing. His focus was now shifted onto the pleasure James was providing, and while he did notice a second finger pushing into his hole, it was brief as his attention was drawn back to James when he felt the brunet's tongue run over his slit. Kendall once again arched his back in pleasure, causing him to thrust his dick further into the brunet's mouth, something that James seemed to handle expertly.

Knowing that he had Kendall distracted, the brunet began to scissor his fingers, slowly widening up the blond as he also searched for Kendall's prostate, knowing that would be enough to have Kendall begging for him. The pain coming from Kendall's ass was beginning to subside as James continued to stretch him, meaning that the blond was now becoming overwhelmed with pleasure and fuck was he loving it. A third finger slipped past Kendall's tight ring, aiding James in his mission to open the blond as well as find his prostate, and before long, Kendall found himself bucking down onto James' fingers, wanting to experience more. That action alone causing the brunet to chuckle as he pulled off Kendall's dick.

"You want me to fuck you?" the brunet asked, Kendall nodding as he pushed himself further down onto James' fingers.

"Fuck…yeah" the blond panted out, causing James to chuckle once again before pulling out his fingers. Kendall whimpered at the brief loss of all pleasure, until he saw James sit up, and throw his legs over his shoulders. The blond could feel James' dick rub against his hole as the brunet readied himself, spiting onto his hand and lubricating his dick, and when the two men locked eyes, James slowly began to push in.

Kendall tensed up at the feeling of intrusion, causing James to stop pushing in as he leaned down to the blond, capturing Kendall's lips in his own. When James felt the blond calm down, he continued to push in, keeping his pace nice and slow so that Kendall could adjust. When he was about half way in, the brunet paused once again, allowing Kendall to adjust as the kissed. The blond was completely submissive at this point, allowing James to take control of his whole body and even though James was dominate, Kendall could feel how gentle he was being.

After a few moments, James began to push in once again until he was finally fully sheathed, and he couldn't help but groan at the feeling. Kendall was so tight around him, and it was taking all of his restrain to stop himself from pounding into the blond. Still, James knew that he needed to take care of Kendall's needs as much as his own, so he waited until the blond was ready, enjoying the feeling of how tight he was. Kendall of course, was also on cloud 9, feeling so full and almost complete. He couldn't help but wrap his arms around the back of James' neck before pulling the brunet down into another passionate kiss, loving how James' dick felt inside him, despite the slight burn he was getting from being stretched. With James kissing him, the pain began to subside and when James pulled out of the kiss, and placed his forehead against the blond's, Kendall had never felt more loved.

"I love you so much" he said, reaching up again to steal a kiss from James' lips, causing the brunet to grin. "Now move" he commanded, shifting himself slightly so that he pushed James' dick further into himself. That caused the brunet to groan, before a devious smile grew on his face, and he pulled his dick out, and then thrust back in. Kendall moaned at the action, his arms now sliding down to James' back as he began to claw at the available skin as if to get the brunet closer. James shifted on his next attempt in, and that time, the blond howled in pleasure, causing James to grin knowing that he had found the sweet spot. Every following thrust focused on that spot, as James kept a steady pace to allow the blond to get used to the feeling.

"Fuck, you're so tight" James gritted out, his head lulling back in pleasure as he continued to thrust, causing the blond to grin before he moaned once again.

"And you feel so good!" Kendall screamed out, James' dick hitting his prostate once again. "Fuck, fast please" the blond began to beg as he continued to claw at James' back, and who was the brunet to deny Kendall that? James thrusts got faster, as he slammed into the blond harder and harder, causing him to howl at the pleasure he was gaining.

Before long, he was gaining a familiar stirring in his stomach but before he even got the chance to reach his dick, James delivered a perfect thrust, causing Kendall's dick to explode with cum.

The white, sticky liquid coated the two of them, as Kendall continued to come untouched, with James furthering his orgasm as he continued to thrust into him. When Kendall came, James felt how his hole clenched around his dick, only making the blond tighter and after a few thrusts more, the brunet finally released his load, straying Kendall's insides with his cum.

With their energy spent, James couldn't help but fall on top of the blond, Kendall wrapping his arms around James' neck once again, before pulling the brunet into a kiss.

"That…was…amazing" the blond said in between kisses, causing James to smile back at him.

"You're amazing. I love you" he replied, causing Kendall to blush under the compliment. James chuckled at him, noticing how his dick had done flaccid, and he slowly slid himself out of the blond, being careful not to cause any more pain then he would feel in the morning. It seems James' load was bigger than expected, as when James pulled out, he noticed his cum dripping out of Kendall's hole and he couldn't help or explain the sense of pride that followed.

Reaching around the room, James was quick to grab his pair of underpants and he began to clean the two of them up with it, doing his best job at removing the cum from his and Kendall's chests, as well as the excess that was seeping out of Kendall's hole. With the two of them cleaned up, they were quick to move so that they were now laying the length of the sofa and James grabbed the throw that was hanging over the back, covering the two of them in it. As they settled into each other's arms, James spooning Kendall, he whispered "I love you" into the blond's ear once again.

"I love you too" Kendall replied, turning himself around so that his face was now in James' chest, and after snuggling into it, the two of them fell into a blissful sleep.

They were both happy to be back in each other's arms, so glad to be reunited with each other and there was no way that they were going to let the other go.

They truly did love each other with all of their hearts, and they'd be damned if anyone was going to take that away from them.

* * *

 **So there we have it! This was a massive Kames chapter, and I hope that you all enjoyed it! I would love to hear what you guys think is coming next with the story, especially with Kendall being home from the war. Surely they aren't going to go through any more turmoil are they?**

 **I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm so glad to see that you loved the Kames reunion! Did you ever doubt that Kendall was going to come back ok? 😈 I'm so glad to see that you loved the coming out of Kames to Jennifer and Katie, as I felt like that was important for Kendall to do. I'm also glad to see that one of you liked the chapter so much that you cried over it, and that I'm not going to get smacked anymore 😜**

 **You'll be pleased to hear that I have started working on this story once again, and I have a long list of things that I need to get too, but I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Love, James first! But until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	26. Chapter 26: Disagreements

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So, you all seemed to love the last chapter, so let's crack on shall we?**

* * *

A loud bang went off outside, causing the two of us to jump up from the sofa, as James clutched onto me with all his might.

"What was that" James asked, causing me to frown as I shook my head.

"I don't know. I'll go check" I responded, pulling myself up from the sofa, and grabbing my trousers and a t-shirt. The whole time James just stared at me with that smirk on his face, causing me to blush as I got changed.

"You're so beautiful" he said, the throw draped lowly over his crotch, exposing just enough of his crotch to turn me on. The fact that he had said that to be meant so much, considering how beautiful he was, so I just reddened further.

"So are you" I replied, hearing another loud bang go off again, causing the two of us to jump.

Taking a deep breath, I made my way outside of the summer house, hoping to see where the noise was coming from, when an all too familiar buzzing sounded over my head. I look up at the night sky, seeing nothing but the bright lights of the plane as it flew over, dropping more canisters from the sky. A trail of destruction followed it, heading in a straight line towards me, but the bombs seemed to ignore me as they exploded. I turned around, hoping to run back to James at such a time, when I saw he was stood at the door completely naked, giving me the worst look I've ever seen.

"You're so pathetic! Did you think you ever deserved to be with me? With someone as rich and as beautiful as me? You're just a pathetic peasant" his voice rang out loud and clear causing tears to well into my eyes. I dropped to my knees as I cried, looking at him as I did so, watching the evil smirk that grew on his face. The buzzing returned once again, and I tensed up at the noise, hearing the explosions that followed it. If only to make it worse, James spoke up over it, his voice ringing loud and clear.

"You're the reason this happened Kendall, you're the reason he is dead" James said, and from beside him I saw emerge the man that I had shot. He had a hole right in the middle of his chest, one that I could see right through, causing me to scream and weep louder and louder. Through my screams, the buzzing that had returned and the explosion that followed, I still heard James' voice one last time.

"You Kendall. You are the reason I died" he said, and as it if was on cue, a plane dropped a bomb right onto the summer house, causing the structure to explode outwards in a cloud of fire and smoke. The whole time it did, I stared at James, watching as his body was flung from the scene, cuts and bruises littering him, and it slammed into the floor right in front of me. His body, missing two legs like the man in the camp was, had landed right in front of me, as blood poured from every cut and his dead eyes stared up at me.

There was only thing that I could do in that situation.

* * *

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH" Kendall screamed as he shot up from the sofa, his eyes welling with tears, some already dripping down his face as he gripped onto the throw and pulled it up to his chest. James was there beside him, noticing how the blond was crying into his hands, as he sobbed. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean too" The blond cried, rocking back and forth on the sofa in complete hysterics. Reacting fast, James pulled the blond into his chest, hoping that would soothe him, but it didn't seem to work. "I didn't want to do it, I had to do it. I had to" Kendall continued to say, his tears coming out in full force as he gripped the throw with all his might.

"It's ok Kendall, it's ok" James soothed, holding the blond in his arms, but Kendall didn't seem to register that he was there. His sobbing continued throughout the entire time James spoke, and he didn't seem to react when James placed some kisses onto his forehead. The brunet found himself pulling out of the hug slightly so that he could stare Kendall in the eyes.

As he did so, the blond continued to babble about how sorry he was, and when he looked into Kendall's eyes, he could see that they were glazed over, and James knew that it wasn't due to the tears. "Kendall" James said, tilting the blonds head up so that he was staring James directly in the eyes. "Kendall, speak to me" he continued, but it had no affect on the blond.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean too, I didn't want to do it, but I had too" he continued to say, James now placing his hands onto Kendall's shoulders in an attempt to shake the blond. "Kendall!" James said a lot firmer this time, while shaking the blond as he did so. That seemed to snap Kendall out of his daze, his eyes now focusing on the brunet's. As life seemed to spark in them again, a whole new flood of tears began as he clutched onto James, pulling himself into the brunet's chest. "I'm so sorry James, I didn't want you to die! Please don't leave me" he begged into the brunet's arms, a tear now coming to James' eyes as he hugged the blond back.

"I'm not going to leave you Kendall, I love you" the brunet replied, feeling as Kendall snuggled his head under James' chin as he continued to cry. "It was just a bad dream, but I'm here for you ok, and I'm not going anywhere" James continued, feeling Kendall nod slightly as the blond continued to cry. "I'm here for you Kendall don't worry, just let it all out" James continued, as another sob teared its way through the blond, James rubbing Kendall's back as it did so.

They must have stayed like that for about 10 minutes, James not letting go of Kendall at all, until the blond finally fell a sleep in James' arms. With some manoeuvring, James managed to lay them back down on the sofa, his arms still wrapped around Kendall, but sleep didn't come as easily to him, with him now being constantly worried about what the blond had dreamt about.

 _'As long as I'm there for him, then it doesn't matter'_ James concluded, as he squeezed Kendall in his arms once more before he finally fell to sleep as well, hoping that Kendall wasn't having another nightmare.

* * *

The morning came when the sun glared through the summer houses' patio doors, causing James' eyes to squint at the bright light before he finally opened them fully. He was greeted with the sight of Kendall staring back at him, a small smile on his face.

"Morning" James mumbled, placing a chaste kiss onto Kendall's lips, one that the blond blushed at.

"Morning" he replied, as James shuffled so that he was sitting up.

"How long have you been up for?" James asked, as he stretched with a yawn.

"I'm not sure. About an hour or two maybe?" Kendall replied, moving away slightly allowing the two of them some room. James was shocked at Kendall's news, causing him to shake his head slightly.

"You should have woken me"

"But you looked so peaceful, and I didn't want to disturb that" Kendall replied, glancing down at the floor slightly, knowing that this morning's events would have to be discussed, as much as he didn't want them to be. James just nodded slightly, before reaching out and taking Kendall's hands into his own.

"And you're ok?" James asked, finally broaching the subject.

"I'm fine" Kendall replied, his answer short causing James to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Are you sure?"

"It was just a bad dream, I'll be ok" Kendall replied, his voice a little soft, causing James to nod as he reached out for Kendall once more. The blond was quick to snuggle into his arms, a small smile settling on his face. About five minutes passed like this, before James spoke again.

"Are you sure you're ok Kendall? If you want to talk about it, then you can" the brunet said, causing Kendall to pull away slightly.

"I'm fine James. Like I said, it was just a bad dream."

"Ok, I'm just worried because you were-"

"I know, and like I said, it was just a bad dream" Kendall replied, this time his voice a little firmer as if to reinforce the point. The two of them locked eyes for a few seconds, as if it were a competition to see who would break first, but when Kendall didn't look away, James conceded.

"Ok" he said, with a nod. "As long as you're ok"

"I am" Kendall was quick to respond, as if he was trying to tell both James and him this. With a final nod, James reached down to his trousers on the floor, and pulled his watch from his pocket.

"Oh wow, it's late." He began, causing Kendall to snuggle a little closer so that he could take a look himself. "They'll be serving breakfast by now, we should probably head up" he continued, causing Kendall to nod as he finally pulled himself from James' arms and the throw they were under.

As soon as he uncovered himself, he was hit with a wall of cold air causing a small shiver to pass through him as he reached for his underwear. He noticed how James was staring at him, causing a small blush to settle on his face, one that James chuckled at.

"God, I love you" the brunet said, finally pulling himself from the covers and shivering himself when he hit the cold air.

"I love you too" Kendall replied, the two of them settling into silence as they got changed. The silence didn't stop the subtle glances and shy smiles that the two of them shared as they did so and once they were dressed, they shared one final kiss before they faced the outside world once again.

And it would be safe to say that both of them considered turning back around and going back into the summer house for the rest of the day.

* * *

When they turned up for breakfast, like usual, the two of them arrived separately with James walking through the front door of the house and into the kitchen, almost like he had just come down from his room, while Kendall instead headed through the back door of the house, as if he had come from his room. That didn't stop the raised eyebrows however as they walked in, with almost everyone knowing about the two of them, but it did help settle James' nerves was like it had returned to normal, with all the servants sitting around the table like they had done for many mornings, but when Dak and Carlos witnessed James pulling out a seat before reaching in and grabbing some food, they exchanged a glance with each other, before also turning to everyone else.

"Forgive me for being inquisitive sir, but why are you sat with us?" Dak asked, his tone showing just how curious he was causing the brunet to smirk, but before he had the chance to answer, it was Lucy who spoke up first.

"Oh, James has been sitting with us for over a year now" she began, Dak, Carlos and Kendall quickly picking up on the use of his name instead of referring to him as sir. "With the war going on, James was kind enough to keep us updated in the mornings as to what was going on, and I suppose from there, we invited him to sit and join us"

"I hope it's not an imposition. I suppose it just became custom" James replied, his eyes glancing between Dak and Carlos, who were looking at each other.

"No, not at all. It was just a shock" Carlos replied, flashing James a small smile causing everyone to get back to serving breakfast. Of course, Dak, Kendall and Carlos were quick to load up their plates with one of every dish that was on the table, and the men wasted no time digging into it due to the lack of taste they had suffered from over the past year. Each of them seemed to rush, yet savour the taste as they ate, and while everyone else knew they couldn't judge them for it, that didn't stop the smirks from growing as one of them moaned at the taste.

"So, I'm guessing you're glad to be home then" James began, starting up the conversation.

"It's nice. I forgot how comfortable the beds here were!" Carlos began, causing Dak to nod while everyone else seemed to raise an eyebrow at them.

"You always used to complain about your bed Dak, said about that spring that was loose and would push into your spine" Lucy replied, causing both Dak's and Camille's face to grow red.

"That's because he didn't sleep in his own bed" Carlos slyly commented, causing everyone to let out a 'ooo' at the news. "Come on, we all knew it was going to happen at some point"

"Come on guys! We all know that what happens in our room stays in our rooms"

"Or in Camille's room" Katie chimed up, causing everyone to break out into laughter while Dak and Camille just turned even redder.

"Ok, ok that's enough of that talk around the table" Jennifer began, acting like the mum of his rowdy household.

"But back to our original conversations, it's nice to be back then"

"Yeah, and the food is lovely." Carlos replied with a smile causing Jennifer to let out a little chuckle.

"Don't worry sweetie, you can have your kitchen back soon" she replied, causing Carlos to let out a small chuckle and an eye roll, which caused everyone else to join in.

"What about you Kendall, how are you finding being back?" Camille asked, causing everyone to glance over at the blond, who had a full plate of food and was completely zoned out. He was quick to recover however when he noticed everyone staring at him.

"Sorry what?" the blond asked, causing Camille to flash him a small smile as she asked the question again. As Kendall replied, James was still glancing over at the smaller male, so when the blond was finished, and they made eye contact, James raised an eyebrow at him, questioning if he was ok.

His response was a nod from Kendall, but the brunet still didn't seem completely satisfied with that answer once again. First, the bad nightmare that Kendall had, and now the blond was hardly eating and wasn't listening to any of the conversation.

The brunet was truly becoming concerned about Kendall, and the blond not telling him about it was only making everything worse.

* * *

Pondering his new situation, breakfast seemed to pass quickly for James, and before long, he noticed how everyone was clearing up the table around him. Shaking his head and snapping back into reality, the brunet was quick to jump up and join up with the clear up operation, moving plates over the sink, while Jennifer put the left over food in the bed. James assumed that Katie, Lucy, Camille, Peggy and Jenny had gotten to work, leaving on Dak, Kendall and Carlos left, who were now talking amongst themselves. With a small smile on his face, James began to wash up some of the plates, causing Jennifer to chuckle as she placed the last of the stuff onto the side.

"You don't need to worry about that James. I mean, if you do, I'll be out of a job" she joked, causing the brunet to chuckle as she shook his head.

"Fine, if you insist"

"I do" Jennifer replied, causing James to nod as he turned back to the other guys on the table, who were just finishing up their conversation.

"I best be off. I bet the cars haven't been cleaning in a while, so I should probably start sooner rather than later" Dak stated as he pulled himself up from the table. Of course, that's when James intervened.

"Don't be ridiculous, you guys have just got back from war. It's only fair that you take a few days to settle in and relax" he replied, causing them all to turn to him with their eyebrows raised.

"Seriously sir, it's no issue. Besides, I bet Jennifer wants a hand washing up those dishes" Carlos replied, causing James to smirk slightly as Jennifer turned to them all.

"I just turned away James, and I'm gonna do the same to you. Seriously, take a few days off. You've had a stressful year, and it's about time that you relaxed" she replied, James nodding along the whole time.

"I suppose I could spend the day unpacking my things" Dak shrugged, looking almost disheartened as he made his way out of the room. Carlos left soon after, leaving only the two Knights and James.

"Let me guess, you want me to get some rest?" Kendall asked, causing James to nod as he walked over to him.

"If I'm being honest yeah. You had a restless night last night" James replied, causing Kendall to roll his eyes slightly.

"I'm fine James, and I'm not tired at all. I'll probably just unpack my things like Carlos and Dak are doing."

"Do you want me to give you a hand? A lot of the stuff was put into storage, so I can help you find it" James replied, causing Kendall to let out a small sigh.

"I'll be fine James. Besides, you've got more important things to do then to help me unpack" the blond replied, causing James to shake his head as he walked over to the blond.

"Nothing is more important than you Kendall" he replied, causing Kendall to run his hands through his hair, a little bit of frustration showing as he let out a sigh. "I'm worried about you Kendall"

"Well don't be" the blond began, now making eye contact with the brunet who looked shock at the blond's tone. "I'm not a kid James, I'm pretty sure I'm capable of finding and unpacking my stuff by myself. I don't need you there to help me" he continued, causing James to step away from him slightly, still in shock.

"I was only trying to be helpful" James replied, his own tone a little sharp. "But I'll leave you to it then. If you need me, make sure to let Peggy or Jenny know" he finished, pulling down his shirt slightly before he walked out the door leaving Kendall with only his mother in the room.

The blond was quick to glance over to her, awaiting her opinion on the matter, but when nothing but a raised eyebrow came, the blond let out another sigh before making his way to the storeroom, his argument with James prevalent in his mind.

* * *

 **So there we have it! Kendall had a night terror about losing James and of course, James was there to help him. Ever since that, Kendall's been a little off, and we'll find out why in the next chapter! I was a little unsure about this chapter, because I almost feel like the story has done a 180 degree flip but I think it works alright!**

 **A massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter and I'm so glad you enjoyed it! You all seem curious for what the future holds, but you are correct about one thing, there is definitely more drama to come! You'll just have to wait and see what form it takes!**

 **If you haven't already, please go check out my new story Blizzard but I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Love, James but until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	27. Chapter 27: Sharing

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! Right, let's crack on shall we?**

* * *

When Kendall walked into the storeroom, he realised what a task finding his stuff would actually be, and he began to slightly regret turning away James help. Still, the past had passed so Kendall got to work, deciding not to dwell on it as he began to read the names on the nearby boxes hoping that one would be listed as his own. After what felt like 5 hours, but in reality, was only 5 minutes, the blond heard footsteps entering the room and he readied himself for the new occupant as he poked his head around the corner. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw it was Carlos, and the Latino was quick to raise an eyebrow at him.

"You alright?" Carlos asked, causing Kendall to nod as he walked back around the corner he came from as he spoke up.

"Yeah, just looking for my stuff" he replied, shaking his head as he read yet another box that wasn't his own.

"Ah ok, I was searching for about 10 minutes before I found my first one" Carlos replied, Kendall letting out a sigh causing the Latino to speak up again. "I would jump at the chance for some help" he added, causing Kendall to poke his head around the corner once again, making eye contact with Carlos, who had his eyebrow raised.

"So, you heard that?"

"I think the entire house heard it" Carlos commented back, causing Kendall to roll his eyes at the comment as he began to search again. Carlos was quick to follow the blond, starting up the conversation once again. "If you don't mind me asking, what was that all about? I thought you'd be happy to be back with James?"

"I am" Kendall began, spinning around so that he was now facing Carlos. "It's just…well I had a really bad nightmare last night about some stuff that happened during the war, and when I woke up, I was crying and blubbering like a baby. James was super nice about it, but I don't know, it was almost like he was coddling me" he continued, Carlos raising an eyebrow at him again.

"Surely, you'd want that?" he asked, causing Kendall to shrug.

"I probably should" he replied, before shrugging. "It's just, the dream itself just made me feel really defenceless, like I wasn't able to do anything by myself, and then when I woke up, James was there helping me through it, almost like it was proving my point. Then, he offered to help me move boxes and stuff, and it was like it was proving a point again, that I wasn't capable of doing it myself. That's why I kinda snapped" Kendall continued again, and when he looked at Carlos, the Latino had almost a blank look on his face. "I know, it's just really stupid"

"No, I actually get that" Carlos replied, helping ease some of Kendall's guilt over the argument.

"You do?"

"Yeah. It's like, when I woke up this morning, I got dressed and when I headed into the kitchen, I saw how Jennifer was cooking breakfast. So of course, I offered to help but she was quick to turn me down. 'Sit down' she said, 'you've been through a lot, let me make it for you' she said, and I know she was only being nice, but it made me feel like I was, I don't know, damaged? Like I…"

"Like you needed to be protected" Kendall replied, causing Carlos to nod along.

"Exactly, and what doesn't help is that when I'm not doing anything, the things that I've seen come back and start to haunt me, so I want to keep active, but no one is letting me" Carlos stated, causing Kendall to nod, knowing exactly what that was like. For a few moments, the two of them stood in silence, reflecting on everything that had been shared between them, and Kendall couldn't help the small bout of happiness that came with knowing that someone was in a similar position to he was.

Taking a deep breath, the blond spoke up again. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, Carlos raising an eyebrow at him, questioning why Kendall was saying this. "I mean, while the two of us search for our boxes and unpack our stuff, we could get some things off our chests. We might feel better after talking about them, and we'll be able to relate to each other as we've both been through the same things" he continued before the room feel silent again, as Carlos began to ponder the idea.

Would he feel better after sharing what had happened? The psychology evaluation officers he had to meet after the war before being shipped home seemed to think so, so maybe it would be nice to get it off his chest. "As long as it stays between the two of us" Carlos replied, causing Kendall to nod. "Ok then" Carlos continued, as his breathing started to increase a little as he began to think about everything that had happened.

"Why don't you get started on finding your boxes, and talk about training? I don't think we were at the same camp, as I didn't see you at Camp Wiltshire" Kendall commented, hoping to soothe Carlos, as he began to search for his boxes again. Once Kendall was around a corner, he heard the shuffling of boxes near Carlos begin again, as well as the Latino take a deep breath.

"I trained at Camp Meade, which was on the North East Coast near to Providence in Rhode Island, and let me tell you, you could feel the temperature difference. It was a lot colder up there, considering I'm used to the Florida and California weather" Carlos began, letting out a little chuckle when he talked about the weather. "I spent about ten weeks there, training and learning all sorts of things. They taught us how to fire a gun, how to arm a grenade and how to put on our gas masks quickly, due to the chemical warfare that was being used"

"We basically had the same thing then. I had all of that, plus a lot of physical training as well. There was a lot of running, climbing and push ups" Kendall added, causing Carlos to chuckle as he reached for another one of his boxes.

"Lot's of push ups. We also had to climb up a flagpole once. That was quite interesting, and no one could seem to do it" Carlos continued, Kendall listening as he pulled his first box down. "When that was over, I was placed onto the USS Maine and I began our journey over to Liverpool, for our second set of training."

"What did you think of the journey? I didn't enjoy it one bit, we got stuck in a storm at one point, and the ship would just rock from side to side constantly"

"I didn't find it too bad, but I was glad once I got off the ship though. It was nice to be walking on solid ground again. Anyway, from there I was shipped to a camp outside a town called Northampton, where they continued to teach us how to shoot and all of that. I was also taught how to operate the big machine guns" Carlos continued, causing Kendall to reflect on his time in England. He was taught none of this stuff, but instead he spent most of his time bonding with the horses in his care, and learning how to treat some of the basic injuries they could get. Tuning back in, he found that Carlos was still talking. "A lot of those nights were filled with drills as well. An alarm would sound in the trenches that we were sleeping in and we'd have to figure out what it meant as well as what action to take. There were quite a few days when I went without any sleep"

"Wow, that sounds rough" Kendall replied, causing Carlos to let out a small chuckle and a sigh.

"That's not even the worst of it" the Latino replied, reaching for another box that was his. Kendall was close behind, now gaining two of his boxes and with the help of Carlos, he finally found the third and final one. "Let's head back to the room. This stuff isn't going to unpacks itself" Carlos joked, but Kendall could tell that it was forced.

With a nod from the blond, the two of them gathered their stuff and made their way to the room, the whole time Kendall reflecting on how different their experiences were, as well as how it was James who managed that for him.

* * *

Conversation was lacking as they walked through the corridors to their room, mostly due to the fact that the two of them didn't want their experiences to be shared with other people, and when the two of them reached their room, the door was shut right away. Still saying nothing, Carlos made his way over to his side of the room and began to unpack his stuff, now completing avoiding eye contact at all times, and when Kendall took the hint and turned towards his own storage space, Carlos' voice spoke up again.

"It was the trenches which were the worst part of it all" he began, and Kendall could hear how void of any emotions his voice had become. "I thought training would have prepared us for it, but it didn't. Nothing ever could. They seemed to stretch on for miles, and you could easily get lost in them if you weren't careful. Plus, they weren't very deep either, so you always had to walk in a bit of a crouch. I saw what happened to people when they stood up straight. Even with just an inch of your head out of the trench, and you were dead"

Kendall grimaced at the idea, knowing what it was like to witness someone dying but he didn't interrupt as Carlos continued.

"The gun fire was constant, going off all day and all night, both from our trench and the Germans, both sides just firing constantly to try and kill each other. The machine guns made an awful rattling sound as the ammo was fed into it, like a constant reminder of how this war was going to continue. Then there were the explosions. The smaller ones, mostly from grenades were still loud enough to deafen you if you were close enough. Well, if you were close enough, you'd be killed instantly. There bangs seemed to go off all night as well, with everyone trying to lob them as far as they could. We were quite lucky I guess, no German grenades made it into our trench, but I did see a few others in the distance explode. There were also the artillery firing as well, which could cause two loud bangs, one when the object was fired into the air, and another when they hit the ground and exploded. But first, there was the whistling" Carlos continued, Kendall now silently nodding along.

He knew about the whistling, and what awful sound it was, and he only had a few encounters with it. From what Kendall could tell, Carlos had to deal with this every day, and the blond doubted that he could he would have been strong enough to do it.

"As if that wasn't bad enough, there were also the trenches themselves. They were constantly wet and muddy, so your feet were soaked at all times. A lot of the soldiers developed what was known as Trench foot, with them getting blisters and their skin would become all red and blotchy, and that was only the first stage of it. If it went untreated, then it led to a lot worse, with some people having to get their feet chopped off. Then there were also the rats that seemed to live with us, and some of them were the size of cats. They'd nick any food that they could, and sometimes they'd even run over you in the night" Carlos finished, letting out a sigh at the end of it as he placed his last few items away. He hadn't even talked about what he'd properly witnessed during the war, but he felt like that was a good start for today, especially due to the tears in his eyes at the memories of everything. "Thank you, Kendall, for listening to that"

"It's fine, I'm just glad that I could help" Kendall replied, glancing round slightly to see that Carlos was now looking at him with a sad smile on his face.

"Anything you want to share? I realise that I talked quite a lot" Carlos joked, but Kendall noticed how it was forced once again.

"I'm good thanks. After hearing all that, well, it's nothing compared to that" Kendall replied, causing Carlos to frown slightly at what Kendall has said.

"Come on Kendall" he began, taking a seat on the bed facing the blond. "You're the one who said that we should share things" he continued, causing Kendall to let out a sigh, knowing Carlos was right.

"Fine, but no judgement" Kendall began, causing Carlos to nod as the blond took a seat on his own bed. "My experience was very different from the moment I arrived in England…" Kendall began, regaling Carlos with his own story, talking about his training with the horses to the attack on his base at Verdun, and everything in between. As he spoke, the blond found it was nice to get everything off his chest to someone who knew what it was like, and what made it better was that Carlos didn't judge him once as he spoke.

When needed, Carlos asked for more insight, but apart from that the Latino mostly remained silent as he allowed Kendall to talk. Kendall finished with the dream that he'd has this morning, telling Carlos what he had witnessed and as he finished, he found himself wiping the tears from his eyes as he looked over at the Latino. "So that's it, but compared to you, it seems like I had it good" Kendall forced out a joke, trying to break the tension of the situation.

"I don't think any of us had it easy, I think we all had our own hardships to deal through." Carlos replied, as he scratched his head. "I mean think about it. You were responsible for getting all the horses ready for the supplies to be transported. Without you, none of the troops on the front lines would have gotten any food or equipment, and a lot of the wounded wouldn't have been able to be transported to the hospital."

"Thank you" Kendall replied, a small blush growing in his cheeks.

"That being said, you should definitely apologise to James for shouting at him" Carlos continued, causing Kendall's head to snap up to him. "I mean, I understand that he was being overprotective and treating you like a kid, trust me I do, but what you've got to remember is that he also spent over a year without you, and about three months of that was not knowing whether you were dead or alive. He's obviously happy to have you back and wants to spend as much time with you as he possibly can"

"You're right" Kendall conceded, allowing himself to fall back onto his bed. He was going to apologise with James for what he'd said but the comfortableness of the bed instead lulled him into a short sleep, one his body was powerless to resist.

* * *

It was later that night, when James was sat on his bed reading a book, that he heard the bell in his room began to sound, and he was quick to smile at it's meaning. It had been little over a year since that bell was last rung, and James was grateful that it was ringing once again. The brunet was quick to jump up from his bed, picking up a box from his bedside table, slipping on his slippers and grabbing the dressing gown from the back of the door before finally making his way through the halls of his house and down to the kitchen, whole time mentally preparing himself for what he was going to say to Kendall. As the day passed, James realised that he was being overprotective of Kendall, and that the blond was completely right; he wasn't a kid and he didn't need James' help all of the time. So, as the brunet finally stepped through the door, Kendall looked up at him from the table, and James launched into his speech.

"I'm sorry for being overbearing and pushy" he began, quickly making his way to the seat next to Kendall's. "It's just that after this morning, I was just so worried about you, and I suppose that coupled with the fact that I haven't seen you for so long just made me go a little crazy. But, I understand now. You aren't a kid, and you don't need me hovering around you, so if I ever start to do it again, just let me know and I'll leave you alone. I promise" The brunet finishing, staring into Kendall's eyes the entire time. He could see the love that was swirling around in them, which did help relax his nerves slightly, but considering Kendall hadn't spoke yet, he was still slightly nervous.

"I'm sorry as well" Kendall began, James' shoulders visibly dropping as the tension was released from them. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, but I feel like I owe you an explanation as to why I did" he continued, James nodding along the entire time. "It's just, it's been a rough year for me, with me being sent off. I've seen things I'm never going to un-see and I've done things that I can't undo, and I felt like I couldn't talk to you about it because you hadn't gone through a similar thing. Then, the dream this morning made me feel so defenceless, like I was unable to take care of myself, and when I woke up, you were there for me, helping it and I guess I just took it out on you, when you didn't deserve it. I'm so sorry James" Kendall finished, a stray tear now strolling down his face. James was quick to engulf the blond in a hug, feeling how Kendall was quick to latch onto him and as the blond sobbed a little, James said nothing, knowing that his presence there was enough.

They remained like that for about 5 minutes, before Kendall found himself pulling out and wiping his tears away. As he did so, James spoke up.

"You know that I'm always here for you right, no matter what has happened, and if you do ever need to talk, then I'll listen" the brunet said, wiping a tear out from Kendall's eyes.

"Thank you, James, it means a lot to me. It's nice knowing that I have you and Carlos to talk to" Kendall replied, the two lapsing into silence again as they held each other in their arms. That's when James remember the box he picked up.

"Oh, I almost forgot about this" He began, reaching into the pocket of his dressing gown and pulling it out as he began to blush slightly. "It's a present for your 21st Birthday. I know we missed it, but I felt like I should get you something" he continued, handing the box to the blond, who's eyes were still a little red from crying. Curious, the blond began to tear into the wrapping, and once that was out of the way, he was greeted with a rectangular box, one that he was quick to pull the lid off, revealing the item. "I didn't know if it was a little too much, and if you don't like it, then you don't have to keep it, but I just thought…"

"I love it" Kendall interrupted, pulling out a pair of dog tags out from the box, their names inscribed on them. With care, Kendall undid the necklace and placed it around his neck, allowing the tags to sit above his chest. "And I love you" Kendall continued, looking up to James with a massive smile on his face.

"I love you too" James replied, before capturing Kendall's lips into his own. "Summer house?"

"Uh huh" Kendall mumbled, the two of them still lip locked as they stood up from their chairs, and as quickly and as quietly as they could, they snuck out of the house, back to one of their most treasure locations.

* * *

It was after breakfast the next morning that James finally caught Carlos alone, and with a smile on his face, he began to speak. "I just wanted to say thanks for talking to Kendall for me"

"Don't worry about it, I was just looking out for the two of you" Carlos replied, as he continued to clean the dishes.

"Well, I wanted to repay you for what you did for me, so I thought I'd let you know that I've invited Logan round later"

That caused Carlos to stop his actions, as he turned to James, his face completely red with blush. "How'd you…"

"Camille let it slip" James shrugged, causing Carlos to roll his eyes. "But, I feel like I should let you know that he likes you back. He told me himself" James continued, causing Carlos to deepen in blush.

"He does?" the Latino replied, causing James to nod.

"Anyway, he's coming around in about ten minutes, so why don't I finish these off" James smiled, causing Carlos to now nod back at him.

"Thank you, James," Carlos said, pulling the brunet into a brief hug.

"Don't worry about it. But just remember he is my best friend, so don't break his heart."

"That's the last thing on my mind" Carlos replied, before sprinting off to his room, leaving James with a smile on his face, safe in the knowledge that everything was finally looking up for everyone at Lakefield Estate.

* * *

 **So there we have it! Kendall and Carlos had a heart to heart with each other, as they told each other a few things about the war, and Kames made up with each other! I also felt like I needed to add this little bit at the end, so we can start to see the Cargan!**

 **Anyway, I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm so glad you liked it! Like I said, I was a little worried about that chapter, but your responses were amazing, so thank you all so much! I felt like I was important to include this, because they have been though a lot, and I didn't want to just forget about it the moment they all came home!**

 **Anyway, I will see you all on Thursday for the final official chapter of Love, James, as the one after is an epilogue, but until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	28. Chapter 28: Storm Clouds Gather

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So, a bit of a shorter chapter today, but it sets up what's coming next, so I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Two weeks passed on the estate with ease and prosperity. After their argument, James' and Kendall's relationship strengthened to a whole new level, mostly a physical level with the two of them finding themselves spending a lot of nights together, but they also bonded further on an emotional level as well. With his discussions with Carlos going well, Kendall also found himself opening up to James about some things, and just like the brunet had promised there was no judgement and very little coddling.

James was careful not to show how protective he was, allowing Kendall space when he spoke, and it was only when Kendall would initiate something that James would then proceed. If the stories did prove one thing however, it was how much James truly loved Kendall, realising how strong the blond was to go through all of this and still remain the same person after and James often reminded Kendall of that.

As for Kendall, he was still having some night terrors but after talking about his experiences, he found that they were decreasing in frequency and that he could cope better when he had them. When he did, Kendall knew it was also best to talk about them, rather than to keep them bottled up, allowing him and James build the new bond they now shared.

As for life generally on the estate, everything had mostly returned to normal. With the loss of Bitters, there was some debate as to whether they should employ someone else to take his position as Head of the Household or whether Lucy should continue to hold it. This debate was quickly put to rest however, when they realised how well Lucy had adapted to it over the short period she had held it, and it was clear to them all that there was no one else better suited for the job. At least that was what the Diamond family had said out loud, but during this discussion, James knew the main reason they let Lucy remain. No one wanted to tell her that she was being demoted back to her original position.

Carlos, Dak and Kendall returned to work after a couple of days of being home, with the three of them starting whether or not James approved of it, so in the end, he just let them do what they wanted, making life easier for everyone. Carlos and Logan's relationship had also begun to flourish, with the two of them making excuses to see each other. Logan's visits to Lakefield Estate became a lot more frequent, and yet he spent a decreasing amount of time during them with James. Of course, James and Kendall were aware of there relationship, as was Camille, who constantly bugged Carlos until he told her about it. Everyone was convinced that Jennifer knew as well, as she would cover for Carlos when Logan was round, allowing the two of them to spend time together.

So, two weeks had passed, and everything was looking up for Lakefield Estate, with the sunny skies shining over them. Everyone knew that something was going to change however, when one day a dark storm cloud began to make its way over them all.

* * *

James woke up that morning to the rain hitting his window, and a groan escaped his mouth when he saw it. The week had been lovely, so while he knew that they were probably overdue for a storm, it didn't stop the fact that he enjoyed the hot weather. There was that, and the fact that his room was cold anyway, and this cold weather only made it worse. Still, the brunet shook that off as he made his way to the shower and began to get ready for the day. Twenty minutes later, and James was walking down the stairs when he was greeted with his mother, who seemed to be moving a plant pot from one table to another.

"Morning mum" he said, snapping her out of her thoughts as she turned to him.

"Morning Sweetie. Where do you think this looks best?" she asked, causing James to shrug.

"Not sure. I guess it's nice in front of the window. Why?" he asked, causing her to place the plant pot down before she turned to him once again.

"Your father got a phone call early this morning. It turns out that the Griffins are coming round for some lunch. Apparently, Mr Griffin has an interesting business proposition and he wanted to discuss it with your father before he looked for other to invest" she replied, causing James to tense up. The Griffin's, one of his father's business partners, and possibly the family that James hated the most. "I know sweetie" Brooke continued, patting him twice on the shoulder in some support. "I'm guessing you'll be able to tell everyone for me. I'm sure they'll know what they need to do" she finished, patting him on the shoulder once more before finally walking away.

When she left, James must have stood on the stairs for a further two minutes, trying to process the information he was given, before he finally found the power to move again. And boy was that movement quick. The brunet sprinted down the stairs, and into the kitchen, essentially barging the door open, causing everyone to stare at him as he stood there panting. No one said anything, as the brunet tried to gain his breath, but when he finally spoke up, his voice seemed loud and worrisome.

"The Griffin's are coming round" he spoke clearly, causing everyone to tense up in the room, with the result of Jennifer even dropping an oven tray on the floor.

"What?" Lucy asked, finally snapping out of her daze.

"The Griffin's are coming round today. My father got a phone call early this morning, saying Griffin wanted to meet my father for an important business deal" James replied, causing everyone to let out a sigh.

"Wait, this could be good. We don't know for sure that she will be here" Camille spoke up, causing Dak to roll his eyes.

"Oh please, we all know she will be. Whenever James is involved, so is she" Dak replied, causing James to rub his hands over his face.

"I'm so sorry to drop this on you at the last minute" he continued, now walking into the kitchen and bending down on the floor so he could help pick up the baked goods from the floor.

"It's ok, it's not your fault you were only told this morning" Carlos replied, as he pulled another tray out of the oven and moved the stuff onto a plate before placing it on the table.

"Still, I know how demanding it is on all of you when she comes round, and I hate putting it on you all"

"Yeah, it's a lot of pressure, but at least we don't have her clinging off us all day. I'd take work over that any day" Dak replied, shuddering slightly as everyone took their seats at the table, James of course sitting in the free seat next to Kendall.

"Why do I feel like I know the name Griffin?" the blond spoke up after spending the last five minutes about it.

"Because Carlos and I warned you about Mercedes Griffin ages ago" Camille replied, as Carlos imitated the devil horns again.

"Oh yeah, she's the one that's dead set on being James' wife!" Kendall finally realised with a smile on his face, but once he spoke out loud he realised what he had said. "Bitch" he mumbled under his breath, causing James to chuckle next to him as he slid his hand onto Kendall's knee under the table. The brunet still wasn't sure who knew in the room, so they were still being cautious about it.

It was clear that Camille, Carlos, Jennifer and Katie knew. And if Camille knew, it was a safe bet to say that she had told Dak by this point, so that still left Lucy, Peggy and Jenny. James was sure that Lucy would be ok with it, it was just Peggy and Jenny who he was worried about. Still, a little caution was worth it for peace of mind. When James zoned back into the conversation, it was definitely at the worst time.

"This meat is too hard. I like my meat soft, so I can bite into it" Carlos spoke, putting on the poshest, girliest voice that he could think of. It was clear that he was imitating what Mercedes had said to him once, but James was still thrown for a second before he joined in with the laughter.

"What about the time she tried to rip the shit out of you Camille" Lucy added, causing Camille to roll her eyes as she began to talk.

"So, I was mucking out one the pens, so like usual the horses were roaming in the field making my job easier. That's when James and Mercedes came strutting in" Camille began, making eye contact with James, a grin on her face as he rolled his eyes. "So, the first thing she said when she walked in was 'Oh, this is so quaint. It's so small, and adorable' so I was already pissed off before she even spoke to me. And then she started to click her fingers as she was shouting-"

"Horse maid!" James interrupted, a chuckle leaving his mouth as he said it.

"Exactly. So, of course, being on my best behaviour, I walked up to her with a smile, and asked how I could help. She responded with 'well, I'm obviously in this shit riddled place so that you can get me a horse. You see, James and I are going riding'" Camille continued, putting on her voice before continuing. "So, I went out into the field, found Fable and I was just about to grab Snowbell when I heard this ear piercing shriek come from inside the stable. I quickly grabbed the two horses and when I finally got back, I saw her leaned against one of the pens, with James scraping shit off her boot"

"It was horrific by the way" James chimed in, causing everyone to chuckle as Camille continued.

"As soon as she saw me, her gaze turned to ice and she began her rant. 'You best become better at your job' she said. 'Because of how lazy you are, I've just stood in shit, and it's ruined my perfectly new riding boots' so as calmly as I could, I asked where she stood in the shit. 'Over there, I don't know why that makes any difference' she retorted to me sarcastically, and when I looked over to where it was, I had to hold back a laugh. It was the designated waste area."

"Oh god, I remember what happens next" James added, a smile growing on his face.

"So, as calmly as I could, I pointed this out to her. 'Well, you could at least have a sign or something letting people know!' she snapped back, and once again in a completely calm voice, I nodded my head to the right slightly, to the sign that read 'Designated Waste Storage.' She was absolutely fuming" Everyone laughed at the story, James quickly adding his two cents in.

"She ran out of the door, and back into the house. Being a good host, I followed her, and she started ranting to me, saying she refused to go horse riding in such a place, and how bitchy Camille was. Of course, the whole time, I was just suppressing my laughter" he added, causing everyone's laughter to increase.

"She sounds like a true madam" Jennifer said, causing Lucy to nod.

"She is, but she's also 'daddy's baby girl' so he treats her to everything she wants, and therefore thinks she so much better than everyone" Lucy replied, causing everyone to nod, before Lucy glanced at the time. "Well, I think it's best we all get to work. We've got a long day ahead of us" she continued, causing everyone to nod as they began to get up from the table and make their way to their designated areas.

Before Kendall could head out however, James quickly grabbed his arm, and when he was sure that very few people were around, he pressed a kiss onto the blond's lips. "I love you. No matter what happens today, please remember that. I love you"

"I don't like the sound of that, what's going to happen?" Kendall asked, causing James to shrug as he took the blond's hand into his own.

"I don't know, but I can be sure that Mercedes is gonna try something. But I love you Kendall, and no one else"

"I love you too" Kendall replied, leaning up to place a kiss onto James' lips.

"Alright lovebirds break it up!" Camille spoke up, causing the two of them to grin as they finally separated.

"Like you can say anything. Dak's just left" Kendall quipped, causing Camille to blush before the two stable hands left the room. With the two of them out of the door, James made his way over to the sink, and began to help Carlos and Jennifer wash up.

"You don't have to do this sweetie" Jennifer said, causing James to shake his head.

"Trust me I do. I feel like I should help if I'm going to unleash the she-beast onto you all." He replied, and from the back of the room, he heard Carlos shout.

"Amen!"

* * *

 **So there we have it! Arthur and Mercedes Griffin are coming round! I wonder what trouble they will cause for everyone?**

 **So, I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm so glad you liked it! Kendall and Carlos' heart to heart was really important, just like you guys pointed out, although I feel like you're going to be disappointed that you don't get to see Logan's visit. Don't worry, we'll see him again soon.**

 **Anyway, I will see you guys on Thursday, for the last chapter of Love, James, which is so sad, but until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	29. Chapter 29: The Griffin's

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So, this chapter is the start of the Griffin's visit on the estate, so let's crack on with it shall we?**

* * *

Much like when the Taylor's arrived on the Estate, James and his family were waiting outside, annoyance present on both James' and Brooke's face. They weren't afraid to show how much they were dreading this visit, and no matter how many times Henry, James's dad, said about how much of a good opportunity it was, it still didn't change anything.

They both hated the Griffin's, much like the rest of the estate did. So as the car finally pulled onto the estate, the two of them both let out a sigh, causing Henry to shake his head before they forced a smile onto their faces. When the car stopped, the driver was quick to get and move round, allowing Arthur Griffin to get out first.

"Mr Diamond, it's so good to see you!" the man said, his tone far to cheery for James' liking.

"Mr Griffin, it's been too long" _'_

 _Not long enough'_ James thought to himself, being careful not to roll his eyes at the older man. That's when the worst of the two got out of the car, already making noises to show her disgust.

"You all remember Mercedes" Griffin presented as Mercedes shook her head so that her hair could flow free.

"Of course, how are you Miss Griffin" Henry spoke, causing the blond girl to roll her eyes.

"It's wet, and I'm cold. How do you think I feel" she replied, James trying his best not to make a sarky remark.

Instead, he glanced around the estate and when his eyes landed upon the stables, he was met with the door being slightly ajar, as well as a few pairs of eyes peeking out at him. That caused a small smile to grow on his face, seeing as both Kendall and Camille were watching them this time. With a subtle wink, his eyes shifted over to the garage, where he noticed the same thing with Dak's head poking out of the door. That time, the brunet couldn't help but roll his eyes as he tuned back into the conversation.

"Well, we best head inside. I'm sure Lunch is almost ready" Henry said, causing them all to nod as Mercedes just reached her hands out.

"Care to give me a hand James? These shoes aren't made for walking you see, they're more for show" she said, raising a leg as if to make it easier to show the brunet.

Having no interest in them whatsoever, he replied with 'they're nice' before begrudgingly taking her hand, aiding her in walking. She seemed to cling to him instantly, causing James to roll his eyes once more as they finally entered the house.

* * *

"So, that's the she-devil huh?" Kendall asked as Mercedes first stepped out of the car, with him and Camille watching from the stables.

"Yeah, just look at her. Everything she does is bitchy" Camille replied, as they both watched as she shook her head, allowing her hair to flow free.

"You know, I can see it. She's just giving off this vibe."

"It's even worse up close. God forbid you ever have to go near her though" Camille said, them both watching as James rolled his eyes.

"He's already fed up with her. Bless him, it's going to be such a long day" Kendall spoke up, just as James caught wind of the two of them watching.

"He's definitely seen us"

"He has, I can see the smile that's growing on his face. *Gasp* He just winked at us!" Kendall replied, a smile growing on his own face as he continued to watch James look around. "He's just saw someone else" Kendall continued, looking over to where James was looking, revealing that Dak was also watching from the garage. "Dak's doing the same thing"

"Is he? Where?" Camille replied, causing Kendall to point over to where Dak that. Dak made eye contact with the two of them, and with a blush on his face, he waved over, causing Camille herself to blush as she waved back. Awing at the cuteness, Kendall looked back over to the door, where Mercedes currently had her hand wrapped around James' as she tried to walk.

"There going inside now. Good luck James" Kendall spoke, causing Camille to smile and shake her head as she finally pulled away. "Well, we best get some work done, just in case they want to come horse riding"

"Or James wants to see you" Camille teased, picking up a scoop as she began to muck out one of the pens.

"Oh no. We've talked enough about James and me. I want to know about you and Dak" Kendall replied, picking up his own scoop.

"What's to know?" Camille asked, trying to play it off as if it were nothing.

"Nuh huh. After what I've told you, I think you owe me"

"Fine" Camille replied, blushing as she did so. "So, it began the day he got back from the war. He drove him and Carlos home, while James waited for you, and as soon as they arrived, everyone went running out the door to greet them. When it got to Dak, I pulled him into a hug, when he placed a quick kiss onto my cheek, before he pulled away. After that, I suppose we sorted just slotted into place. We sat next to each other in the kitchen, as we all talked about everything while you were gone and that. Eventually, we all had to get back to work, but before I left, Dak asked if I could see him later, so I just nodded" Camille began, not making eye contact the entire time. "Of course, as soon as I was finished, I went to his room and knocked on his door, and when he opened it, he'd set out a nice little table with a flower on it and some food he claimed he cooked. We spent all night chatting-"

"And doing other things-" Kendall interrupted, causing Camille to blush as she continued.

"And I suppose from there, we've started dating" She finished, a smile wide on her face.

"That's so nice! I'm so happy for you" Kendall replied, flashing her a small smile before he got back to work, conversation dissolving into it's usual contents.

* * *

"So, James, I take it you've been training with your father in preparation for you to take over the estate?" Griffin asked as everyone began to take their seats at the table. Henry was at one end of the table, with Griffin at the other. To Henry's right sat Brooke, and to his left was James, who was also sat next to Mercedes, much to his dismay.

"Actually, I've been going my Literature degree" the brunet replied, as he placed his napkin over his lap with the first of the food being brought out from Jennifer and Carlos, who James knew were forcing a smile onto their faces. When they made eye contact with each other, James could see that they were trying their hardest be to polite, and not piss the Griffin's off.

"A Literature degree? What on earth would you need that for. You're taking over a business boy, you don't need to be reading books" Griffin replied, as Carlos poured him a glass of water. Neither of them missed the disdained look that Carlos received from Griffin, and James could see how Carlos was trying his best not to say anything.

"Actually, I wasn't planning on taking over the family business until later in life. First, I want to try and make a difference in the world"

"A difference? Nothing needs to be any different that it already is now. Life is perfect. Those who are beneath us serve us and we are entailed to whatever we want. The world doesn't need to change" Griffin replied once again, this time as Jennifer placed a plate of food in front of him. As Griffin spoke, James could see how hard Jennifer was trying to not say something, and thankful she didn't have to, as James spoke up instantly.

"I don't think that's true at all, I think the world needs to change a lot. I mean, there are people out there who can't read and can't write but they would definitely benefit from that knowledge. That's why I want to become a teacher." That's when Griffin did a spit take, but deciding to ignore it, James carried on. "To help out those who need it and who would benefit from it. It may not be much, but at least I'll be making a mark on the world"

"A teacher?" Griffin bellowed, making sure that all attention was definitely on him. By this point, Carlos and Jennifer had left the room, knowing they couldn't take any more of Griffin's opinions. "Why would you want to teach? The poor don't need to read and write, all they need to know is how to be obedient. Why on earth would you want to teach them, and why are you abandoning your responsibilities to your household. You should be training to take over your family's business, and getting ready to run this household, not teaching the peasants how to read and write" Griffin scolded but that didn't stop James from replying. If anything, it only made the brunet more willing to respond.

"As I said before, I will be taking over my family's business, but when I am older. There is no reason why I should take over now, when it is unnecessary. Instead I can be using my time to do something meaningful and useful, which is helping out those who need it"

"The only meaningful thing you should be doing is furthering your family's wealth" Griffin replied, once again causing James to visibly roll his eyes this time at the older man. It seems their argument had taken up a reasonable amount of time, and that everyone else had finished off their starters. This time however, before James could respond, his mother spoke up.

"Why don't we focus on something else. You've hardly touched the starter that our chef's have prepared" Brooke said, causing James to nod, as he noticed that Carlos and Jennifer were already in the room, readying to collect all of the dishes. James was quick to dig into the bowl of soup served, but as expected Griffin spoke up.

"I don't think this is up to scratch personally. I was expecting something more to begin with" he said, causing James to roll his eyes once more before glancing up to look at Carlos and Jennifer who were now trying to hard to maintain their friendly persona.

"Anyway, it's been a while since we're seen you Arthur, how are you getting on out East?" Henry spoke up, hoping to guide conversation into something preferable.

As Carlos and Jennifer cleared away their plates, James could only profusely whisper his apologies to the two of them.

* * *

It had been about an hour since James disappeared into the house with the Griffin's and about five hours since Kendall had started work that morning, meaning that the blond was getting ready to eat once again. As the blond finished mucking out his last stable, he spoke up once again.

"I wonder how James is getting on? You have more experience with the Griffin's than I do, so what do you think?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at Camille.

"I think he's fairing ok. I mean, he's dealt with his plenty of times before." Camille began, before looking back at Kendall. "But I'm guessing something like this has gone down. The Griffin's have already complained about some of the food they've been served, and they've also insulted us, the servants, about 10 times. I'm guessing that James has probably tried to defend us, and that Carlos and Jennifer are about this far-" Camille demonstrated with her fingers, which were very close "-away from shouting or losing their heads"

"Wow, that's pretty specific" Kendall replied, causing Camille to shrug as she went to speak. Only, it wasn't her voice that spoke up.

"Like she said, we've had plenty of experience with this before" Dak said, causing the two of them to chuckle.

"Hey Dak" Kendall replied, causing Dak to nod as a response before Camille walked up to the brunet, and placed a small peck onto his cheek. The brunet was shocked at first, especially due to Kendall being in the room, but Camille was quick to explain.

"Don't worry, he knows everything" she said, causing a grin to grow on Kendall's face.

"So do I" Dak replied, flashing Kendall a wink, causing the blond to blush in return, the smirk wiping itself off his face. "And don't worry, I won't tell a soul"

"Thank you" Kendall replied, blowing out a little sigh of relief before Camille spoke up.

"So what are you doing here anyway?" she asked, as Dak lent against one of the pens.

"I'd cleaned about half of the cars, but I was starting to get a little peckish, so I thought I'd go get some lunch. When I heard the two of you chatting, I thought I'd just come say hi" Dak shrugged, just as Kendall's stomach grumbled, causing everyone to chuckle.

"It seems I'm a little peckish as well" The blond blushed, as he leaned his scoop against one of the pens. "Should we head in as well?"

"Sure. I mean, all we need to do now is replace the food and the water in the pens, so we can do that after lunch" Camille replied, as she did the same as Kendall, placing her scoop down.

With Dak taking Camille's hand, the three of them made their way back over the house, the whole time Kendall trying to glance through the window's subtly. Well, he thought it was subtle, but by the way that Camille and Dak were softly chuckling, he gathered that it wasn't. The three of them decided to head through the back door, deciding to try and avoid the Griffin's as much as possible, despite how much Kendall wanted to see James, and as they walked in, they heard Jennifer and Carlos chatting.

"The cheek of that man. I can't believe what he just said" Jennifer said, her voice filled with rage.

"Get used to it. This is what he's like every single visit. It gets harder each time not to say anything" Carlos replied, causing Jennifer to let out a frustrated sigh. Just as she was about to speak, the three of them walked into the kitchen area.

"Rough day?" Kendall asked as he walked in, instantly going over to the drying rack in order to try and help out.

"You would not believe the cheek of that man. He's so, so…rude" Jennifer enthused, scrubbing the plate she was cleaning a little harder.

"What did he say?" Dak asked, grabbing some of the food that was set out on the table for them to eat.

"Well, firstly, he insulted Carlos and I's cooking." She began, before turning directly to Kendall. "He didn't even try my leek and potato soup, yet he had the audacity to say that it wasn't up to scratch" That caused Kendall's eyes to widen slightly. He'd been having that soup for years, so he knew how delicious it was. "And then, when we were serving the main course, they were all talking about their businesses. He was so patronising to Mrs Diamond, explaining to her what profit is and basically treating her like an idiot. He's a sexist, personally targeting her because she was the only woman at the table. Besides his daughter of course, who he was treating like God's gift to earth" Jennifer raged, managing to get through all of the dishes she was working on. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little wound up" she apologised, when she realised no one else had spoken for a while.

"It's alright. We know exactly what he's like, and how infuriating he is" Camille spoke up, as she also reached for some food.

"I just don't know how you've put up with him for so long." Jennifer sighed, causing them all to shrug.

"I guess it's because we love the job for the rest of the year. We can tough it out for one day" Dak replied, causing Jennifer to nod.

"I suppose. I'm just grateful that Carlos is here with her. I doubt I'd be able to survive this on my own. I would have said something to them by now."

"It's part of the job" Carlos joked, patting Jennifer on the shoulder, causing them all to chuckle. "Anyway, let's take a quick break. They won't be finished for a short while, so we should take the chance to eat" the Latino continued, causing Jennifer to nod, as everyone gathered about the table, reaching in for the food that sat in the middle.

"So, how's everyone else getting on?" Jennifer asked, causing them all to shrug, as Dak launched into his story.

* * *

James had felt the two and a half hours since the beginning of this meal pass, so when Jennifer and Carlos began to clear away their dessert plates, he couldn't help the smile that grew on his face, and the sigh that escaped.

"I suppose we should get onto business now?" Henry asked, causing Griffin to nod, as the five of them got up from the table.

"I suppose so." Griffin nodded, as he pushed his chair in. "Brooke, Mercedes, you're welcome to leave, as it's about to get confusing for you" Griffin said, causing James and Brooke to roll their eyes at his sexist comment. "James, will you be joining us? Or are you going to continue your foolish endeavours?" Griffin continued, but James smiled at his question, finally seeing his way out from this awkward day.

"Unfortunately, it'll be the second one I'm afraid. I have a lesson scheduled for today, and it would be rude of me to cancel on such short notice." He replied, causing Griffin to nod slightly.

"Oh no James, please stay with me! We have some things that we have to...discuss as well" Mercedes pleaded, causing James to physically shudder at her tone.

"I can't. I've made a commitment with someone else that I have to honour" James replied, causing Mercedes to put on a fake pout. Luckily before she could speak up again, Griffin spoke up.

"At least you are honourable while being foolish" the man replied, before turning back to Henry. "Please, lead the way"

"Mercedes, why don't we leave them to it? The two of us could have a chat" Brooke replied, but by the time Mercedes replied, James was to far away to hear what she had said.

As soon as he was allowed to leave, the brunet jetted straight for the kitchen door. As the door closed behind him, he could help but lean against it slightly, as he tried to clear his head space from the horrible hours he'd just endured. Letting out a deep breath, he finally walked into the kitchen, seeing how Jennifer and Carlos were washing the last of the plates.

"I'm so sorry you had to suffer through that" the brunet began as he walked over to the sink, and began to put some of the dry plates away.

"It's not your fault sweetie" Jennifer replied, as she dried a plate. "But I will say that that man is the worst human I have ever met" She continued, causing James to chuckle.

"I know, so I'm sorry once again"

"So you managed to escape?" Carlos asked, James nodding in response.

"Yeah, after he ridiculed me for teaching again, I was able to get out of business talk. Instead, I'm going to my lesson with Kendall" the brunet replied, and just as he spoke the blond's name, Kendall walked through the back door. "Hey you"

"Hi, you ready?" Kendall replied, causing James to nod.

"Yeah, if you'll follow me"

After saying farewell to Carlos and Jennifer, the two love birds made their way through the house, where James could hear Griffin's voice coming through the walls. The brunet shivered at it as he walked up the stairs and luckily, the closer he got to his office, the quieter the disturbing voice got.

So, when they finally arrived at James' study space, a small grin grew on his face as he opened the door. With the blond ushered inside, James to quick to connect their lips together, something that Kendall didn't fight him on at all, instead relishing the feeling. It was clear that the both of them needed this, but of course that left them oblivious to what was following.

That became abundantly clear when they both heard the scream.

* * *

 **So there we have it! Griffin is a massively sexist pig , who only cares about furthering his own wealth which of course meant that James argued with him a whole lot. I realised that I set Mercedes up to be the worst person ever, but I'm pretty sure it was Griffin in his chapter! 😜**

 **So, as always, I want to give a massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11, and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm so glad you liked it! Trust me, the worst of Mercedes will come next chapter, so prepare yourselves for that!**

 **I will see you all on Thursday for the next chapter of Rush and Response, god does it feel weird to say that, but until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	30. Chapter 30: Caught

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character, with this being chapter 30! I will admit that when I started this story, I hadn't expected it to have continued for this long, and I certainly didn't expect it to be my first story over 100,000 words, but life has a funny way of surprising us I suppose! Anyway, that's enough rambling from me, so let's crack on shall we?**

* * *

Startled, the two men jumped away from each other, and swivelled around in order to see where the noise had come from. Their faces dropped when they were greeted with only a blur of blonde hair briskly walking away, and as the two boys clued in to who caught them, boy where they scared. With one final glance at each other, the two of them bolted out of the door, and down the corridor, trying their best to catch up to Mercedes, who was walking at such a pace.

"Mercedes, wait up! I can explain" James shouted after her, finally able to catch her before she got to the top of the stair case. Kendall gave him a quick glance, wonder what he was going to say but she spoke up first.

"Explain? Explain what? I was you kissing him! A peasant no less! I have to tell father! He wouldn't want us working with faggots" She hissed, causing James to flinch at her strong language. Kendall was silently seething next to the brunet at her foul mouth, but luckily James spoke up before Kendall snapped.

"How dare you insult us like that!" James snapped, causing her eyes to widen as he continued. "And how dare you question our choices and decisions. Love is love, and you are in no position to question that. Now, if you wish to tell your father then fine. But that won't stop the fact that I love Kendall, and it certainly won't help the fact that you're bitter about it. After all, that is what this is all out isn't it" the brunet continued, causing a small smile to grow on Kendall's face. Of course, all of James' words pissed off Mercedes more, and when James finally finished, she slapped his around the face before she spoke up again.

"How dare you chose this peasant over me! I could have given you everything you ever wanted, but instead you chose him. A scrawny, dirty little faggot boy, who I bet just shovels shit for a living. He could never give you what I could."

"I don't want anything from Kendall, his love is enough and that's something you could never give me, because you don't love anything." James sassed, causing Mercedes to gasp slightly as the brunet continued. "Kendall is the sweetest, kindest person I could have ever met, and those qualities beat anything that you could have given me. All you ever wanted was power and wealth, but those things aren't everything in life and sooner or later you're going to have to realise that. You're going to have to realise that life doesn't revolve around money."

"We'll see about that when I tell father what happened. You're going to regret ever choosing him over me!"

"It wasn't even a choice, I never even considered you as an option" James quickly added in, causing her to let out the largest scream for her father as she ran down the stairs. Following closely behind her, Kendall and James stuck close together, the blond's nerves rising massively especially when everyone began to gather in the foyer, by the front door.

"What is wrong pumpkin" Griffin asked as Mercedes ran into his arms, giving him a hug. Henry was stood beside him, and Brooke had also left the living room where she was sat to come and see what the disturbance was. As if to make more of a scene, Kendall also noticed that Jennifer and Carlos had also appeared by the kitchen door, meaning that their audience was now huge.

"We need to leave now" Mercedes began, finally pulling out of the hug slightly, and turned to look at everyone else. Without question, Griffin responded.

"I guess that concludes our business then." He said, causing Henry to look at him slightly confused.

"Maybe we should slow down. This all seems a bit sudden" Henry said, before turning to Mercedes directly. "Can I ask why you want to leave all of a sudden?" he continued, causing Kendall and James to shuffle slightly closer towards each other, as they braced for the onslaught that was coming.

This certainly wasn't the way that James expected to come out to his parents, but this was the way it was going to happen, so he least he could do was mentally prepare himself.

"Because we shouldn't do business with these faggots" she replied, pointing towards Kendall and James. Of course, Griffin was the only one that actually seemed visibly shocked by the news. James was unsure as to whether his parents were still in shock, but he didn't have time to ponder when Griffin began to speak.

"It is true boy?" he asked, moving Mercedes slightly to the side was that he could walk closer to James, as if to intimidate him.

James of course, didn't back away one bit, instead finding himself stepping closer to the older male, while also reaching out for Kendall's hand. At first, the blond seemed shocked by the advancement and for a split second thought that he shouldn't take James' hand. That's when all the memories of what James had done for him came rushing back, and Kendall would be damned if he didn't stand with James when the brunet needed him the most. Taking James' hand into his own, and giving it a good squeeze, Kendall also stepped forward, giving James the courage he needed to reply.

"It is" James replied, feeling like another large weight had been lifted from his shoulder. Releasing another breath, he spoke up again. "It is true. Kendall and I are in love and nothing is going to separate the two of us" James continued, squeezing Kendall's hand again. Griffin's face seemed to become engulfed in rage as James finished, and the first thing Griffin did was spin to Henry, who was now stood over by Brooke.

"Did you know about this?" he sneered, causing Henry to pull down on the suit he was wearing.

"Well, he had some idea yes, but nothing concrete" Henry replied, causing James' eyes to widen. Of course, before the brunet could speak, Griffin spoke up.

"And you did nothing to stop it? You didn't try to separate him, or punish the boy. Hell, you could have had the peasant killed, no one would have cared. Men aren't supposed to love other men, it's criminal, and perverted. Mercedes grab the phone. This needs to be reported instantly. It's clear that this peasant has obviously corrupted young Mr Diamond, and he needs to be punished for his actions" the older male said, causing a whole flurry of actions to take place.

Mercedes seemed to reach for the phone which was sat on the wall by the front door. Henry and Brooke Diamond seemed to mutter between themselves before turning their attention to Mercedes, who was already talking to the police. That left James and Kendall, who seemed to be getting an onslaught of slurs from an angered Griffin.

"Disgusting, filthy faggot!" Griffin raged, his full attention on Kendall at this point. "How dare you corrupt Mr Diamond to your cause, you pathetic criminal" he continued, as James began to insult the older male back.

"At least I'm not a sexist, misogynistic pig, who only cares about money! If anything, I'm surprised Mercedes is still around. I would have guessed you would have sold her for money by this point. Anything to further your wealth" the brunet retorted, but that didn't stop Griffin from insulting Kendall.

With everything going on around him, the blond felt like he was at snapping point, and just as the phone was hung back onto the wall, and Mercedes announced that the police were on their way, he finally broke.

"How dare you insult us the way you are!" Kendall shouted, causing everyone to go silent instantly, as they listened to what he was saying. Even Griffin seemed shocked that the peasant was speaking to him in such a way, especially as Kendall continued. "You have no right to say anything about the two of us, or who we love. I love James so much, he's smart, funny, caring and has always had my back through thick and thin, so how dare you stand here and insult us. We are twice the man you'll ever be mister, and it's when people like you die out that the world becomes a better place. You were massively insulting to my mother, who cooked you a fabulous dinner, something that I doubt you'd be able to do for yourself. You were insulting to Mrs Diamond, who is probably far smarter that you'll ever be, and you think you are so much better than all of us because you came from money. Well let me tell you now sir, you will never be better than any of us, no matter how much money you have! You, you are the pathetic one" Kendall finished, all his anger and rage releasing from his body as he spoke.

By the time he was finished, he was square up to Griffin, ready for the verbal onslaught he was about to receive. What he wasn't prepared for however, was a fist colliding with his jaw, one that caused him to fall directly to the ground. As the blond dropped, everyone became attuned to the sirens that were pulling up the drive. James was quick to get down onto the floor next to Kendall, helping the blond nurse his injury, while Griffin stood over the two of them again, ready to sneer.

"How dare you speak to me in such a manor peasant. I will have you killed for that" he threatened, before banging began on the front door. Mercedes, being closest to it, opened the door, allowing the police offers to enter the building. "There he is officers. Take him away, and put the faggot in the dirtiest cell you can find" Griffin ordered, causing the two men to nod, as they headed towards James and Kendall. James' grip on the blond tightened massively, to try and make sure that they were separated, but that didn't stop the police officers from trying.

"Get away, stop it!" James struggled as one of the officers got behind him, and began to restrain him, causing him to release his grasp of Kendall. The blond, who was still slightly dazed from Griffin's punch, offered very little resistance when it came to him being lifted from the floor and arrested. "Let him go! I said, let him go!" James continued to struggle, causing the officer to tighten his grip. Realising it was futile to fight the officer, James then said the one thing he knew would mean the most. "Kendall" he called out, causing the blond, who was now slightly struggle, to look back at him. "I love you!"

"I love you too!" Kendall shouted back, James watching as Kendall was thrown into the back of a police wagon.

When the door was shut on the back of the wagon, locking Kendall in, James was finally dropped to the ground by the second officer, but he was quickly restrained once again by Henry, when James tried to run to the back of the wagon. As the second police officer climbed into the front of the vehicle, James watched as Kendall was driven away, the blond clutching onto the bars as he wanted the distance between him and James grow.

* * *

When James finally lost sight of the wagon, he felt himself be released from his father's arms, and he fell to his knees once more as he cried over what had just happened. Kendall had been taken away from him again, and even though James knew where the blond was this time, it didn't make it any less heart breaking. Looking around him, he also noticed how Jennifer was crying in the doorway of the kitchen, obviously witnessing everything that had just happened to her son, but Carlos was right alongside her, trying to make her feel better. James was heartbroken, his mind only focusing on the fact that Kendall was gone, but that only lasted so long, coming to an end when Griffin spoke up.

"Don't be so pathetic boy. The faggot's gone now. You should be grateful I save you from his infectious ways" the older male spoke, and this time it was James' turn to snap. Anger and rage fuelling his body, the brunet found himself essentially launching up from the floor, getting right into Griffin's face. The look James was giving the older man was enough for Griffin to grimace slightly, yet in order to try and maintain this authority, Griffin didn't let how frightened he was show. That was until James opened his mouth.

"How fucking dare you!" James screamed, causing the white haired male's eyes to widen as he stepped back slightly. As he did that, James stepped toward, always keeping the gap between them small. "What gives you the right to dictate who I love, and what can be done to them. You come into my home, you insult my mother, my future and all of my friends, and then you have the audacity to remove my loved one as well." Griffin took another step back, James filling it quickly. "You must think that you are some high and mighty fucking human being, when all you are is a worthless piece of trash. Your own wife left you because of how vile you were, despite all of the money you had, and the only reason you are successful is because my family took pity on you years ago. Somewhere along the line, you thought that you had the power over us, well let me retract that notion. Diamond Winery thereby breaks the contract with your company, and will henceforth find a new distributor along the East Coast. You're going to be left with nothing after this. What's everyone going to think when the biggest wine company in the country withdraws from association with your company" James sneered, the anger on his face ripe.

It seemed however, that Griffin still didn't get the message. "You pathetic-"

"SHUT UP OLD MAN!" James shouted, not allowing Griffin to get any words out, causing the older man to flinch as he stepped back a little more. By this point, it was clear to James that most people on the estate were watching his outburst, but he really didn't care. "Now I suggest you remove yourself from my estate before I have you forcibly removed" the brunet threatened, causing the older man to just nod, not saying a word.

Even James' parents were in shock by his outburst, and offered nothing as Griffin turned and reached for his coat. Mercedes also stayed quiet the whole time, the only noise being made was her reaching for her coat as well. With the front door open already, there was nothing restricting Griffin from leaving the house, so the man had no choice but walk straight to the car in defeat. Mercedes was ushered in first, then followed by Griffin, and as the door closed, the older man couldn't help but say one more thing.

"There will be hell to pay for this boy" the older man snarled one last time, but James didn't back down at all.

"Bring it on. I'm not scared of you" James replied, before kicking the side of Griffin's car, ushering the driver to leave. The whole time the Griffin's left the estate, James and Griffin maintained eye contact, neither one of them breaking it until Griffin was out of view.

When that happened, James did nothing but turn back towards the house, not speaking to anyone as he walked through the doors and up the stairs. With one location in mind, James headed straight for his office and when the door was finally closed behind him, he released the flood of tears that had been brewing since he'd shouted at Griffin.

Nothing stopped him this time from falling to his knees of the floor, as the brunet began to sob about the lose of his loved one once again.

* * *

As everyone gathered in the kitchen, no one knew quite what to say. Jennifer was still in tears at the fact that Kendall had been taken away right in front of her eyes, and Carlos was still comforting her, with Katie who had now joined them. Camille and Dak were currently stood together, with Dak's arms around Camille's waist in an attempt to keep her as close as possible. That left Lucy, Peggy and Jenny, who were currently scattered around the room pondering what had gone on.

Thankfully, Lucy was the first person to speak up. "Can I ask what actually happened. All Katie and I heard was a lot of shouting but by the time we got out, Griffin and Mercedes were leaving the estate" she asked, looking over mostly to Carlos, knowing that he witnessed the whole thing. After a quick glance over to Katie, who nodded, Carlos moved away from Jennifer, allowing Katie to comfort her as Carlos regaled them with the tale.

"Jennifer and I heard shouting from the foyer, so we decided to poke our heads out of the kitchen door, so we could see what the disruption was about. Mercedes had demanded to leave, so Mr Diamond asked why and that's when Mercedes called James and Kendall 'faggots'" Carlos began, cringing slightly at the word as he said it. "So of course, everyone seemed shocked by the news, so Griffin asked if it was true. James reached for Kendall's hand, and he admitted to them all that it was. So, Mercedes got straight onto the phone with the police, while James and Griffin started to have an argument about everything. Griffin was convinced that Kendall had corrupted James, but James wasn't having any of that, defending Kendall as much as he could, and that's when Kendall snapped. He also started shouting at Griffin, giving him what for, but when he'd finished, Griffin clocked him around the face. As Griffin stood over Kendall shouting back, the police arrived and took him Kendall away" Carlos continued, hearing how Jennifer's sobbing had quietened slightly. "So once Kendall was gone, James turned to Griffin and continued the onslaught. He cut off all business ties with him, and demanded he leave the estate instantly" the Latino finally finished, causing Lucy to nod before she spoke.

"Wow. That's rough. I hope Kendall and James are ok"

"Why?" Emerged a voice from the back corner of the table, causing everyone to look over at Peggy, who was stood there with a hand on her hip. "The two of them are faggots, and they deserve to the arrested" she continued, causing everyone to look over at her in shock. Jennifer looked ready to shout, but luckily Lucy got up first. Well, 'luckily' was a rather subjective term.

"Get out" Lucy ordered, pointing to the door, causing Peggy's eyes to widen.

"What?"

"I said get out. Pack your things and leave, you're fired." Lucy continued, as she walked over to the girl and loomed over her intimidatingly. "I will not tolerate that talk about my friends, and considering the fact that James is also our boss, get out, you're not welcome here" Lucy repeated, pointing to the door once more. Gulping slightly, Peggy pushed her seat out and slowly stood up.

"I'll make sure she leaves" Katie stated, causing everyone to nod as the brunette girl walked over to Peggy, and accompanied her down the hall way to her room. Everyone was silent while they waited for Peggy to pack, if only to make the homophobic girl feel more intimidated, and they all watched as she walked back through the kitchen. Katie accompanied her the whole time, watching her with evils due to the fact that the girl had insulted her brother, and once she finally reached the front door, they were very little in terms of goodbyes.

"How am I supposed to get back to town?" Peggy had the audacity to asked, causing Katie to shrug.

"Walk" the smaller girl said bluntly, causing Peggy to look at her with shocked eyes. As this was happening, the two of them watched as a car pulled up the drive, parking right out side the front door.

"I came as soon as I heard!" Logan said as he opened the car door, and walked up to the front of the house. The quick glance he gave Peggy was obvious enough to Katie, so she knew she had to answer the question.

"Come in. We're just taking out some homophobic trash" she said, causing Logan to nod as he looked over at Peggy once more with a little bit of disgust. When the brunet was through the door, Katie had no remorse, slamming the door right in Peggy's face before turning back and leading Logan into the kitchen. As soon as they were through the door, Logan rushed right over to Carlos, and engulfed the Latino into a hug, no longer caring who knew about them.

"Are you ok?" he asked, causing Carlos to give him a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but we're all a little shaken. And none of us know how James is getting on" Carlos replied, causing Logan to nod.

"I'll go talk to him. Hopefully he should speak to me" the brunet commented, causing everyone to nod once again as Logan grabbed a box of tissues. Placing a kiss onto Carlos' forehead for safe measure, the brunet made his way back out of the kitchen and up the stairs, in the hopes to try and comfort his best friend.

* * *

 **So there we have it! A whole lot of stuff went down with everyone, leading to Kendall being arrested and dragged away! Nothing can ever stay good too long at Lakefield Estate!**

 **I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and you all guessed that Mercedes would be the cause of it! I'm glad you all enjoyed the last chapter as it was definitely fun for me to write, as was this chapter, it not a little sad as well!**

 **Anyway, I will see you all for the next chapter of Rush & Response, but until then, **

**TTFN 😃**


	31. Chapter 31: Acceptance

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! I don't really have much to say, so let's crack on shall we?**

* * *

It wasn't difficult for Logan to find James, knowing the brunet so well. Well, that and the fact that he could hear the muffled sobs of his friend coming through the walls as he walked about upstairs. Following the noise, Logan found himself upon James' office, and with a gentle knock on the door, the brunet let himself in to find James huddled on the sofa, a cushion on his chest. The brunet on the sofa did little but look up at Logan, his sobs not interrupted, before he looked away once again.

"Hey" Logan said softly, as he shut the door behind him before walking over to the sofa where James was huddled, causing Logan to crouch down in front of him as he placed the box of tissues onto the floor. "So, I heard what happened with Kendall. It's sucks huh?" Logan continued to talk, James only slightly looking at him as he peered out from under the cushion. "But I heard that you gave Griffin what for huh, I bet that felt good" That caused James to nod, as his tears slowed slightly. "Why don't you tell me what happened huh. That way we can work through it together" Logan replied, causing James to nod ever so slightly as he shuffled slightly on the sofa so that he was sitting up a little more properly.

"S-s-s-so, Griffin was being a m-m-m-mas-s-s-s-sive dick over lunch, and the f-f-f-first change I could get out of t-t-t-there. He was g-g-going to t-t-talk to father about the business deal he came here with, and he asked if I w-w-wanted to stay or leave, so obviously I c-c-chose to leave" James began, Logan nodding along the whole time, feeling proud that James was actually talking about it as well as he was. He was obviously stuttering, and struggling to get some words out but he hadn't broken down just yet, so Logan was counting that as a positive. "K-Kendall and I h-had a lesson planned, s-s-s-so I went to go get him, but as I stepped into the k-kitchen, he turned up anyway. The t-two of us made our way upstairs, and as soon as we w-w-were in h-h-here, I kiss him, because of the day I was having. I felt like I just needed some reassurance, and I k-knew that he would g-g-give it to me. B-b-b-but we forgot about the d-d-d-d-door" James continued, this time a sob tearing itself free from his throat. Logan was quick to help him recover, pulling James into a hug, allowing James to rest his head on Logan's shoulder while the stable brunet rubbed James' back.

"It's ok, it's ok" Logan comforted, as James tried to get a hold of himself. Sniffling slightly, James finally pulled away as Logan picked up the box of tissues, allowing James to grab a couple before he wiped his nose and eyes. Feeling a little better, the distraught brunet began again.

"So, that's when the two of us heard a scream from behind us, and when we both pulled away and looked, we saw a rush of blond hair walking away."

"Mercedes" Logan grumbled, his own hatred for the girl coming out as James continued to speak.

"So, Kendall and I chased after her, and luckily we caught her before she walked down the stairs. I told her that I could explain, but she insulted us, causing us faggots and I lost it. I told her about how rude she was being, and how she had no right to tell us how to love. I may have called her bitter about the fact that I loved Kendall instead of her." James continued, Logan now shaking his head at James' words. Of course, Logan couldn't help the chuckle that also accompanied the head shaking, because James was completely correct. "Anyway, s-so Mercedes shouted for her dad, and everyone came rushing out and told Griffin they had to leave. My dad asked why, and she called Kendall and I faggots again, causing to everyone to look slightly shocked. Of course, I was asked if it were true and I was just so tired of lying so I was honest, and I told everyone that Kendall and I were in love. That's when it got messy…" James continued to tell the story, his mood improving slowly as he spoke. That was until the part where Kendall was punched and taken away, but James managed to stay strong through it, not crying until after the whole story was finished.

"So after you shouted at Griffin, and made him leave, you retreated up here and have cried ever since?" Logan asked, his tone being a little harsh, but he knew exactly what he was doing.

"I think I have a good reason to cry, don't you?" James asked, causing Logan to shrug nonchalantly.

"But you've let Griffin win" Logan replied, causing James to sniffle a little more as he wiped his eyes.

"I didn't let him win. I shouted at him, and told him to leave."

"Yeah, then retreated away. You haven't actually done anything about Kendall going away. You've just looked after yourself" Logan continued being a little harsh, knowing that his words were getting to James, and would hopefully spur the brunet to do something. "What happened to the James that fought for Kendall when he was being sent away to war?" Logan chastised, causing James to retreat into his head slightly. "I mean, that James tried everything to keep Kendall here with him, but you've just given up."

"I haven't given up!"

"No, then what are you going to do about it?" Logan replied, James sniffling once more.

"I'm gonna march down to the police station and demand for Kendall to released. That's what I'm going to do! How dare you say I haven't done anything!" James replied, as he pulled himself up from the sofa before glancing down at Logan, who was grinning at the now angered brunet. When James caught sight of Logan's grin, he couldn't help but roll his eyes slightly as he dropped back down on the sofa. "You played me"

"Of course I did. That's what best friends are for. I couldn't let you stay as a miserable mess for the rest of the day" Logan replied, causing a small smile to grow on James' face.

"Thanks" James replied, causing Logan to shrug as he pulled himself from the floor finally as he sat on the sofa.

"Don't worry about it. But I do think you should talk to your parents before you do anything" Logan commented, as he looked over at James. "From what you told me, they obviously had some idea, so it might be helpful to talk to them about it, and see what they think to it all before you go and get Kendall. It's better to know he'll be alright here instead of bringing him back, straight into another argument."

"You're right" James sighed, knowing that he'd been trying to forget about his parents for that short while. Their reaction certainly wasn't something that James was expecting, and that made him wary of what his parents would say. Surely if they were comfortable with it, then they would have approached him about it right? Or maybe they just didn't want to put pressure on him, so that he didn't feel uncomfortable around them? The brunet let out a sigh. The only way he would know would be to ask them he supposed, and he decided that he should get it over with sooner rather than later. "I'll talk to them now" he announced, causing Logan to nod, as he pulled himself from the sofa, a small sad smile on his face.

"I'll walk you down, and if you need me, I'll be in the kitchen" Logan replied, causing James to nod as he quickly glanced at himself in the mirror. His suit was all creased from where he'd been crying, his eyes were all red and puffy, and his hair was also out of sorts, with small strands sticking up in different locations. James let out another sigh, as he pulled his suit jacket down, hoping to remove a few of the creases, which worked. He also licked his hand and tried to sort his hair out, and when the majority of it looked alright, he gave up.

There was nothing the brunet was going to be able to do with his eyes, so he quickly accepted that fact and moved on. As he and Logan made their way through the hallways of the upstairs, James couldn't help the panic that was slowly rising in his chest. This was the big moment for him, the moment where everything would finally come to a head, and he'd learn whether his parents truly accepted him or not.

And boy was that scary.

Logan was right beside him the entire time as they walked, providing him with a small bout of emotional support, but as James approached the living room door, James knew that was coming to an end, especially when Logan placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you've got this." Logan said, causing James to nod. "And remember, what ever happens, everyone has got your back" Logan continued, giving James a small pat on the shoulder before he walked away.

With a heavy breath, James pushed down on the handle, allowing the door to open.

* * *

As James walked into the living room, his nerves seemed to overflow and at one point the brunet considered just walking away, but he knew that this was something that he needed to face sooner rather than later. The longer he left it, the longer James knew he would stew about it, so he decided just to get it done. His parents were sat together in the room, facing away from him, although he was certain that the two of them were aware of his presence. Taking another deep breath, he walked over to the sofa and sat on the one opposite them, causing them both to look up at him with small smiles on their faces.

 _'At least this makes it a bit easier'_ James thought to himself as he shuffled in his seat trying to get comfortable and get rid of the nerves that he was exhibiting. He couldn't help but fidget a little, but he forced himself to remain mostly calm as he thought about how to start. Neither of his parents offered anything, instead looking over at him with small smiles on their faces, hand in hand so James knew that he just needed to start.

One more deep breath and he began.

"I'm gay and I'm in love with Kendall. I have been in love with him since the moment I met him at the Morgan's estate and that's mostly why I offered him a job here. We've been dating since I brought his family here, and nothing is going to cause that to stop. Not even the war could separate us, so I'll be damned if that bigoted old man was going too" James began, and as he spoke, he found himself getting more and more confident and outspoken. Looking up at his parents, he began again. "Say what you will, but I'm not going to leave him, and nothing will change that. Nothing" James finished, ready for his parent's response.

He'd meant what he said, that nothing was going to get him to separate from Kendall, but he also knew it would be nice for him to have his parents on his side. The room fell silent as James finished, his parents offering no suggestions of how they were feeling. They'd said that they'd had some idea in the lobby, but now that James had confirmed it, he was curious and worried to see what they really thought. Wiping his clammy hands on his trousers, James sat there anxiously, waiting for any sign, and when he had finally opened his mouth to speak, James was overcome with relief and more anxiety.

"Well, I admire your courage, it must have been difficult to tell us all of that" Henry began, causing James to nod slightly as he sat back up in his seat. "But I suppose there's one question that we really need to ask"

"Are you happy James?" Brooke took over, causing James to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Happy?" he replied, thinking the question was some sort of trick, almost like she was asking 'are you after happy after everything that you've caused.'

"Yes, happy. Are you happy with Kendall?" Brooke asked again, causing James to nod as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Yeah, I am" James began, once again finding a little more confidence. "I am happy with Kendall. He's sweet, kind, caring and always knows how to make me smile. He's everything I could have ever wanted" James replied, causing his parents to nod.

"That's all we can ask for" Brooke replied, causing James to quirk his eyebrow at his mother once again.

"So, that's it? You're not going to shout at me, or scold me for being a faggot?"

"Of course not. Like your mother said, as long as your happy, that's all that really matters to us" Henry replied, taking Brooke's hand into his own, and squeezing it. James was completely confused by what had unfolded in front of him. He'd expected shouting and screaming but instead his parents were completely receptive to him dating Kendall. Much to his disbelief, James kept asking questions about it.

"So, you're not disappointed in me because I'm dating a man? Surely you must have been when you found out?"

"We weren't disappointed in you, but it did come as a shock" Henry replied, before leaning forward to place his hand on James' knee as a supportive gesture. "We're not going to be mad at you for loving someone James. As parents, we can only ask that our child is happy, and since you've been with Kendall, you've been the happiest I've seen you in a long time. It doesn't matter whether he's a man or not, just as long as you're happy" Henry continued, causing James to tear up a little bit.

"How long have you known?" James asked, causing his father to shrug slightly.

"Since about when you first started dating actually. When you asked to bring his family here, I was a little suspicious and then we heard the two of you sneaking out the house that night. When you didn't return, I guessed something was up and since then everything was pointing towards it. When you asked about the war, it only reaffirmed my beliefs, and trust me, I tried my best to stop him from going." Henry finished, causing James to nod. It seemed everyone knew about them sneaking out that night, but that was the least of his concerns at the moment.

"And you're sure you're not mad?" James asked once again, causing Brooke to smile at him as Henry chuckled.

"Of course we're not mad James, we love you" Brooke replied, as she pulled herself from her seat and made her way over next to James, pulling the brunet into a hug. Henry wasn't far behind, doing exactly the same thing, causing a few tears to well up in James' eyes.

"Now, I've tried to get Kendall released over the phone, and nothing has worked, so I think we need to get down to the station. What do you say?" Henry asked, causing James to nod.

"Yeah, I think it's about time I got my boyfriend back" James replied, as he wiped the tears from his eyes and stood up from the sofa. Henry wasn't far behind, the two men brushing down their suits before making their way into the kitchen. Everyone was still gathered around the table, chatting but that all ceased when James and his father walked in.

"Logan, I didn't know you'd joined us" Henry spoke, causing Logan to offer him a small smile, his arm still across Carlos' shoulder.

"Mr Diamond, nice to see you" Logan replied, causing Henry to nod back at him before James spoke up, turning his attention to Dak.

"Which cars are alright to be used?" James asked, causing a small smile to grow on Dak's face, as he knew exactly what that meant.

"Any of them sir. Would you like me to accompany you?" Dak replied, causing James to offer him a smile of gratitude.

"That would be appreciated" James replied, causing Dak to nod, before he placed a kiss on Camille's cheek.

"Good Luck sir. We all hope that Kendall will be back with us shortly." Lucy stated, causing everyone in the room to mummer with agreement.

"Oh don't worry. He will be" Henry replied this time, causing a smile to grow on James' face, as well as everyone else's.

The brunet knew how privileged he was to have a father such as his own, and he was so grateful for it.

* * *

 **So there we have it! Logan and James had a chat about everything that happened, and Logan was able to get through to James in the end. He also encouraged James to speak to his parents, which went well, and they are supportive of him. I thought with everything going on, I'd give James this small win.**

 **So, a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter and I'm glad you all enjoyed it! You seemed to love Kendall going off on Griffin, which I have to admit, was fun to write, and you all seemed to have Peggy as well!**

 **I have to admit, I'm at a bit of a crossroads at the moment. A lot of my deadlines for uni are coming up, and because of that I haven't done a lot of writing recently, so I'm going to call a hiatus so I can get myself sorted. My last thing is due on the 13th December, and uni finishes for Christmas on the 14th, so it means I'll have the entirety of Christmas Break to relax and bash out a load of writing. Just know that I feel really bad for doing this, and I'm planning for uploads to start properly again on the 17th December, starting with the next chapter of this.**

 **I will still be about, reading other stories, so I won't disappear completely.** **I will see you guys in about 3 weeks time and I hope you all have a good few weeks. But until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


	32. Chapter 32: The Station

**What is up everyone and welcome back to Class Vs Character! So, I am back with a new revitalised energy and I'm so excited to get this chapter to you all! It has been so weird not uploading anything for the past couple of weeks, and I want to say thank you all so much for all the support you gave me! Anyway, that's enough for now, as I'm going to thank you all so much once again later but first, let's crack on with this shall we? So, I present to you, after a long wait, chapter 32 of Class Vs Character!**

* * *

The drive down to the police station wasn't awkward at all, with James knowing that he could talk with his father about what was going on. Sure, the situation was still fresh, so he knew that some topics would still be a little awkward but all in all, he felt comfortable in himself as the three of them drove down into the city of Oakland. He could tell that Dak was trying his hardest to get them there as fast as possible and he appreciated the gesture immensely, as shown by his smiles to the driver via the rear view mirror. Still, James wanted to know what the plan was for their arrival, knowing that barging in and demanding to see Kendall wasn't the best idea for this situation. Turning to his right slightly, James faced his father, who the brunet could see was deep in thought.

"So, what's the plan for when we get there?" The brunet asked, causing Henry to turn and face him slightly as well.

"We barge in there and demand for Kendall to be released" Henry answered, causing James' eyes to widen slightly. He certainly wasn't expecting that was his father. Usually he was more tactful in his approaches, but apparently this time, he was adopting a different approach.

"Do you think that's wise? I mean, surely demanding something from them won't help our case"

"Trust me son, I know what I'm doing. We need to be strong when we go in there, as these police officers will think they can bully us due to everything that's gone on. We need to be firm, clear and most importantly, we need to stand our ground. As soon as we show any signs of weakness, they'll pounce, and all our chances will be done" Henry stated, causing James to nod, despite the fact that his nerves were currently rising like mad.

His father did have a point though, as if they back down, then there was no way that the officers were going to release Kendall. James just nodded once more, as he tried to mentally prepare himself for what would happen next. It could very easily go wrong and if the brunet was being perfectly honest, he could even end with him being imprisoned for the same reason Kendall was.

Kendall.

The thought of his boyfriend at his moment made his heart throb, as his mind began to race with what was happening to the blond love of his life. James tried to stay positive, hoping that Kendall was alright, and that the police hadn't done anything to him while he was in their charge, but that didn't stop the negativity from creeping in. He'd heard stories about what happens to gays in prison, and it was one of the reasons that James had stayed so secretive for so long.

Suddenly his brain supplied him with a memory, one that hadn't surfaced in a while. It was shortly after their second kiss, as the two of them walked through the orchard, James' dressing gown wrapped around Kendall to keep him warm and his arm wrapped around the blond's waist to keep Kendall as close as possible. The brunet was currently overjoyed with the situation, and decided to ask the blond out on a date, hoping, praying that the blond would say yes. As he asked the question, he distinctly remembered Kendall going tense in his arms, and when he asked what was wrong, that's when Kendall admitted his fears.

 _"_ _It's… should we be doing this. I mean, I really like you James, like really really like you, but this is against the law. And if we got caught, then it would be my fault, and you'd probably be thrown in jail, and I don't want that for you James, I don't want you to be thrown in jail over me"_

And Kendall had been completely wrong about all of it.

The thought would have made James chuckle if he didn't have the guilt on his conscience that this was all his fault. He'd been the one to kiss Kendall as they'd walked into his study, and it was Kendall who ended up imprisoned, not the other way around. Sombre, James gained a new determination to get Kendall released and back to him safely.

After all, he was the reason this happened, he was the reason all of this had happened.

* * *

As soon as the car had stopped out the front of the police station, James and Henry were already in action, jumping out of the car doors before the handbrake was even on.

"Do you want me to come in as well?" Dak asked quickly when he saw the two men about to walk through the doors, causing James to shake his head.

"We'll be alright." James replied, causing Dak to nod before James finally pushed the door open, allowing them entry to the station. It was basically what James expected to see, a bunch of uniformed officers walking about behind a set of bars which separated the offices from the reception area. Still, that didn't stop Henry from marching right up to the reception desk.

The poor girl occupying it was clearly frightened by the anger of Henry's face, but she still managed a meek "how can I help you?"

"I demand to see the chief of police" Henry commanded, causing the girl to nod as she reached for the phone. Clearly this was one order she was not going to refuse, probably out of fear of what Henry would say if she disobeyed. Still, the girl had yet to see James' temper, which he was surprisingly managing to keep under wraps. Well, that was until the hounding started.

"Hey, isn't that the other faggot from the Diamond House?" James heard be shouted, as a uniformed officer pointed at him. James couldn't make out the face of the man, but it was clear that the guy knew him. That's when another officer stopped and looked at him, James recognising his face instantly. It was one of the officers that had taken Kendall away, and that caused James' anger to rise significantly, the brunet now feeling it simmer right below his threshold.

"Yeah, that's the fag. If it were up to me, he'd be with the other bender."

"Well, you'd want them in separate cells of course. What happened if one of them dropped the soap?" The first officer barked, causing laughter to sound throughout the entire station. Henry turned to James, the anger ripe in his eyes, but it was nothing compared to what was flaring back from James' now darkened eyes.

"Why don't you say that to my face, you pussy!" James shouted through the bars, taking a step forward to he was slightly closer to the officers. Just like his father had said, he couldn't show any weaknesses, and James took that as he couldn't just take the insults either. The officers obviously heard what James had said, causing their laughter to die down slightly.

"What was that?" The officer that had turned up at the estate asked, as he took a step closer to James.

"I said, why don't you say that to my face. I mean, it's alright being on the other side of these bars, like a coward, but a real man would say it to my face" James replied, causing the officers fists to ball in his hand. That gained a small smirk out of James.

"How can you talk about being a real man, faggot" the officer spat back, the whole station watching the ordeal go down.

"Well, because I'm more of a man than you are. I may be a fag, but I'm not the one that still hiding behind metal bars like a baby"

"You fucking bastard!" The officer yelled, as he reached for the door separating him and James before yanking it open. The metal banged as it slammed into the concrete wall, and as the officer approached, James could see that he was consumed with rage. The brunet couldn't help but swallow slightly, reflecting on the situation he'd gotten himself into, but the fact still remained that he wasn't going to let this uncultured swine insult him.

Luckily, before anything actually happened, the name of the officer rung throughout the station, as if it had been bellowed from the top of someone's lung, and that caused the uniformed officer to turn around, towards where the noise was coming from. Everyone watched as the chief of police approached the scene, Henry straightening out his suit as if to make himself more presentable, while James stared down the uniformed officer who was now slowly stepping away.

James had definitely won this round, causing a small smirk to tug on his lips, not that he let it show. When the chief of police finally reached the Diamond men, he gave the two of them a brief nod, before stating that they should talk in his office. The two men agreed with the idea, before following the chief of police through the previously opened metal door and through the office area. All of the officers watched as they walked, James' head held high as he looked down on all of them. It was safe to say that this station was occupied with filth, this being evident by the two run ins James had had with the law since this morning, so it was only right to treat them as much.

That didn't stop the angered officer from sneering at him, but James simply brushed it off, returning a death glare of his own, one that would have killed if looks could. As the finally reached the chief of police's office, James gave one last look at the officers in the station before shutting the door behind him. Taking a seat in the chair next to his father, James knew that only half the battle had only been won. They still had to convince the chief of police to release Kendall, and that's where his father came in. Smug, James straightened up in the chair, ready for the negotiations that were about to occur.

And boy, was his father good at negotiations.

* * *

"So, I'm guessing you're here about the faggot boy that currently is in holding" The chief said, causing James to take a deep breath at the word. Sure, he'd heard it a lot recently, but that didn't make it any easier to listen to.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't use that term, but yes, I'm here to release Kendall" Henry replied, causing the chief to shuffle in this seat as he stroked his moustache.

"Well, you see, that's not going to be easy. According to the file…" The chief began, as he searched around for the file, before grabbing the document and flipping it open. "He's been charged with sodomy, and that's a pretty serious offence. My hands are tied" the chief finished, causing James' anger to flare slightly.

"Surely you can just release him! I mean, he's done nothing wrong!" James protested, causing both his father and the chief to look over at him with their eyebrows raised.

"And from what I hear, you're the one that he was performing such actions with. I should have you arrested as well" the chief threatened, but James didn't back down. Either did Henry, with him straightening out his suit once more before turning towards the chief of police once again.

"But you won't do that. Instead, you're going to release Kendall like I've asked, and you're never going to bother my son and Kendall again"

"And why would I do such a thing?" the chief asked, causing a smug look to grow on Henry's face, one that James knew the meaning of.

"Because if you don't, I'll have this place shut down" Henry stated calmly, as if it meant nothing to him but of course, it caused the chief's face to pale. It wasn't often that the Diamonds used their wealth to threaten people, and sure, they'd withdrawn from the Morgan's Estate and he'd cancelled the business deal with Griffin but that was the only times he could think of. Now however, James knew it would be difficult, and despite how wrong it felt, he couldn't help the smug look that grew on his face either.

"You couldn't" The chief said, snapping James back into reality, as the man sat up straighter in this seat.

"I could. I'll just mention how the station is unlawfully holding a demobilised soldier, a survivor of the worst war this world has ever seen. How do you think that'll go down with the public?" Henry replied, and he could see the anger that was seething in the police chief. Still, the chief had no ground to stand on, no room for argument, and the Diamond's knew they had him penned in a corner.

"We'll have to discuss terms" The chief conceded, causing Henry to nod.

"Of course, but first, I want you to let my son see Kendall, to make sure that he's ok" Henry continued, and both of them saw how the police chief swallowed the lump in his throat. They instantly took that as a bad sign, and that caused James' anger to flare completely. Standing up, he slammed his fist down on the desk, causing the police chief to lean back slightly.

"Let me see him now!" James growled out, causing the chief to nod slowly before he called out for one of his officers, who was quick to enter the room.

"Take these gentlemen to the prisoner" the chief said, causing the officer to only nod as he led James and Henry back out of the room.

The whole time, James had his fists clenched, his finger nails digging into his hand as he tried to remain as calm as possible. As they were led to the back of the building, James could feel as the temperature dropped considerably, which didn't help at all with his anger and as they were finally led to Kendall's cell, it was enough to take him over the edge. But instead of an outburst of anger, tears streamed from his eyes as he gazed upon his loved one. Kendall was leaning against the wall with his knees clutched close to his chest as he quietly sobbed. It was clear that the blond had heard they enter as he looked up at the three of them, causing James' heart to drop further. Kendall's right eye was completely black, causing James to immediately rush over to the cell.

"Open this now!" James demanded to the officer escorting them, and the look in James' eyes left no room for argument. Instead, the officer simply did as James said, unlocked the cell door and as soon as it was open, James ran to the blond and wrapped his blazer jacket around him to try and warm him up as well as pulling him into a hug. "Who did this to him?" James demanded once again, staring directly at the officer with hatred flaring in his eyes.

"The two officers that brought him in sir" The young officer replied, causing James to nod before glancing over at his father.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it" Henry reassured, causing James to nod as he pulled Kendall in closer once again. "Take me back to the chief"

"I can't leave the prisoner unattended sir" the officer replied, causing James to stare at him once again, while Henry did the same thing, as he stood up straighter as if to loom over and intimidate the officer.

"I don't care about your stupid rules. Take me back to the chief and let these two have some peace" Henry demanded once again, causing the young officer to nod, as he led Henry away.

Henry gave James one final sorrowful look before he left, allowing James and Kendall a moment alone.

* * *

James waited until he heard their footsteps finally dissipate, so that he knew they were finally alone, and once that was the case, he pressed a kiss into Kendall's hair, one that the blond instantly reacted to, as he snuggled further into the brunet, trying to clutch onto his safety blanket. Kendall knew that he was safe now, and that James would stop at nothing to get him released, but that still didn't remove the trauma that he'd been through.

"It'll be ok" James reassured, whispering it into Kendall's ear before placing another kiss onto the blond's head, and that's when Kendall finally let his barrier down, a loud sob working itself free.

"I said this would happen, and it's all my fault. I knew it would, I said it would, and it's all my fault" Kendall sobbed, finally letting out all his pent up emotions out.

"No, it's not your fault, its not your fault at all" James reassured, but Kendall still sobbed in his arms. "If anything, it's my fault this has happened to you" James continued, but that caused Kendall to shake his head in James' chest.

"It's not your fault, you did nothing wrong. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have kissed you"

"I think you'll find I kissed you" James joked, causing a small chuckle to work it's way free, something that James revelled in slightly, knowing that Kendall was listening to him. Following that, James pushed Kendall away slightly, before tilting the blond's head to get a proper look at him. His eye was definitely blackened and bruised, and there was only one thing that could have done that.

"Don't look at me, I'm ugly like this" Kendall said, as he moved his hands to cover his eyes but James to quick to stop them.

"You're so beautiful. No matter how you think you look, you always look beautiful to me" James reassured, pressing a kiss onto Kendall's lips to calm him slightly. That caused a small blush to grow on Kendall's cheeks, a welcome sight from all the crying. "How did this happen?"

"I asked for my phone call" Kendall replied, a sad chuckle leaving him. "But apparently fags don't get them, but they get one of these instead." As the tears started to roll down Kendall's cheeks again, James placed a kiss onto Kendall's lips once again, before pulling the blond closer into his chest, hoping to comfort him. "I just want to go home"

"I know, and we'll be home soon enough, I promise you that" James replied, holding Kendall once again as he sobbed.

Nothing else was said after that, the only noise filling the room was the sound of Kendall crying and James comforting him as he did. The two of them remained on the floor throughout all of it, neither one of them wanting to move for anything.

They may have been in a terrible situation, but they both loved nothing more than being in each other's arms.

* * *

 **So there we have it! James and Henry went down to the station, and demanded for Kendall to be set free, as well as James finally seeing Kendall for the first time since he was arrested, with him being in a terrible state, bless him! I'm sorry if this chapter is a little bit off but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!**

 **So, I want to give a massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11 and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter, and once again thank you all so much for the support you all gave me! I'm also glad that you all enjoyed the last chapter, with the Jagan chat, as well as James talking to his parents about everything, that was definitely a big thing for him to do! Also, I just realised that this story has hit 100 reviews which is absolutely incredible to me, so thank you all for that so much! It means so much to me when you guys share what you think, and I love hearing your opinions so thank you so much once again!**

 **Anyway, so I might see you on Thursday for Rush & Response, but I haven't totally decided yet. I'm thinking I might finish writing this story before I move onto that one so I only have to worry about writing one at a time. This story only has a couple of chapters left anyway, so I might not take me too long to finish this off, and if it doesn't, then I'll get straight onto R&R.**

 **So, maybe I'll see you on Thursday for R &R, but if not, I'll definitely see you next Monday for the next chapter of this! But until then**

 **TTFN 😃**

 **Damn it felt good to say that again 😜**


	33. Chapter 33: Journalism

**MERRY CHRISTMAS...eve! So, Hi guys and welcome back to Class Vs Character! Now, this might come as a bit of a shock but this is actually the penultimate chapter of this story, with the next chapter being a small epilogue to wrap everything up! I'll get into a little bit more detail about that at the end, but let's crack on shall we?**

* * *

It felt like hours had passed when Henry finally returned to the cell the two of them were cuddled in, whereas in reality, it had only been about 10 minutes. Kendall had stopped sobbing by this point, but he still had a few stray tears rolling down his face, so James kept him as close to him as possible. Well, it was for that reason as well as the fact that he loved having Kendall in his arms. When the two of them heard footsteps, they both gazed up to Henry and the officer who was stood over them. Worry was present on both James and Kendall's face, as they anxiously waited for the news of Kendall's fate. Well, it was more the news of whether James would have to break Kendall out, or whether the blond was free to go, as there was no way that James was leaving his building without the blond.

Henry took a deep breath before answering, instilling a little bit of fear into the pair of them before he finally said the words they both wanted to hear. "He's free to leave"

"Thank you" Kendall replied to James' father, causing Henry to nod as he reached down in order to help Kendall and James off of the floor. Kendall graciously accepted the hand, Henry pulling the blond to his feet before he inspected the black eye closely as well, similarly to how James had done it.

"And the officers who did that?" James asked as he stood up from the floor himself and brushed down the dust that had gathered on his lap.

"They've been fired due to misconduct, and they'll be practically unhirable after this" Henry replied, causing James to nod.

"Good" was all the brunet replied with, before placing his hand onto Kendall's lower back. "Let's get you home" he continued, Kendall nodding along as the two of them walked back out of the cell area and through the main office.

All the remaining officers were staring at them as they walked through, a mixture of emotions present on their faces. Fear was definitely one of them, alongside a little bit of anger and resentment. Of course, that's when James and Kendall's eyes landed on the two officers who were currently packing up the items that were present on their desks. Feeling eyes on them, the two officers looked back, seething with anger as soon as they made eye contact and at this point, James couldn't help the smirk that grew on this face, and he made no attempt to hide it. This only angered the officer further of course, with one of them even trying to come at James, but he was quickly stopped by the officers surrounding him.

As the Diamond's and Kendall strolled out of the door, James had his head held high, with Kendall safely secured in his arms and this time, he was determined not to let go.

* * *

Thankfully, Dak was still waiting outside for them, in the exact same place as before, and as soon as he saw Kendall emerge from the building, he was quick to jump out of the car and pull the blond into a hug.

"It's good to have you back" Dak said, causing Kendall to chuckle slightly.

"I've only been gone a few hours" Kendall replied, causing Dak to chuckle as he pulled out of the hug.

"I know but we were all worried about you, so it's nice to see you safe" he shrugged, before moving back over to the car where he opened the front passenger door as well as the door next to it.

"Here, you two sit in the back" Henry said, as he made his way to the passenger side door, a blush growing on Kendall's face as James escorted him to the back of the car. The blond climbed in first, only shuffling over slightly before James climbed in after him and shut the door.

As soon as that was done, Kendall felt James' arms wrap around his waist, pulling him in closer, and Kendall was powerless to fight it, resting his head against James' chest. Both Henry and Dak looked back at the couple, a small smile on their faces for the once again happy couple. With Henry and Dak in a conversation of their own, Kendall decided to sit up slightly better so that he could talk to James properly. There was something on his mind that he wanted to ask about, and there was no better time than now to do it, he suspected. Smiling up at his boyfriend to get his attention, Kendall asked his question.

"So, you're parents know about us then?" he asked, causing James to nod. "How did it go?"

"It went really well" James whispered back, a smile growing on his face. "I was probably a lot more nervous about telling them then I needed to be"

"And there ok with it? Us I mean?" Kendall continued. He suspected that he already knew the answer to his question, but there was no harm in asking anyway.

"Yeah, they're ok with it"

"Even with me not being you know, rich?" Kendall replied, causing James to chuckle.

"That doesn't matter Kendall, they don't care about that stuff as much as I don't. All they care about is me being happy, and you, you make me the happiest man in the world" James responded, causing Kendall to blush once more. He'd never get used to James paying him any type of compliment, but he certainly wasn't going to ask the brunet to stop, with the blond loving it every time James said something. A small smile grew on Kendall's face due to it, causing James to chuckle as he pulled Kendall a little closer to him. "I love you Kendall. I love you for who you are, not because of what you have. I love you inside and out"

"I love you too" Kendall replied, causing James to lean down, and plant a chaste kiss onto Kendall's forehead, one that caused the both of them to smile sweetly at each other.

* * *

The two of them were in a blissful state for the rest of the drive, but it all seemed to come to an end when they began their approach to Lakefield Estate. It was clear, even from the end of their drive, that there was a bunch of people crowding the entrance of the house, and while the group couldn't make out what they wanted, it was clear from the way that Lucy, Brooke and Logan were acting that these people definitely not welcome. That all became abundantly clear when they got closer to the house and the crowd heard the car approaching. In one solid motion, the whole group seemed to turn towards them, staring then down like hawks and it was in that moment that James finally realised what these people were. _Journalists_

"Dad?" James said, silently asking the question of what the hell they were supposed to do.

"It'll be ok. Just keep looking forward, and don't answer any of their questions"

"Who are they?" Kendall's small voice popped up, causing James to look down at the blond in his arms.

"They're journalists, and I'm guessing that Griffin tipped them off while he was leaving. Don't worry, just like my dad said, don't make eye contact and don't say anything" James replied, Kendall looking worried by the response. To calm the blond's nerves, James placed a small kiss onto his forehead before whispering "don't worry, I'll keep you safe" and he could feel how Kendall slightly relaxed in his arms.

Everyone sat in witness as Dak parked the car as close to the house as he possibly could, and as soon as the vehicle came to a dead stop, the journalists swarmed around it, a flurry of questions flying at them all.

'"James, is it true? Are you gay?" "Mr Diamond, how do you feel about your son dating another man?"' were the two questions that were asked the most, but they were all ignored as Dak jumped out of the car, pushing a few journalists out of the way as he did so, before moving to the back left hand door in order to help James and Kendall out.

When the door was opened, more journalists were pushed out of the way, and as this action occurred, James was quick to pull Kendall as close to him as possible to try and reduce the blond's exposure to the vultures trying to scavenge any news they could. In reality, it probably didn't help that James and Kendall were practically cling off each other as they walked, but that was the least of James' concerns at the moment.

More questions continued to fly at the four of them, with some even being directed at Dak, asking what he thought of the situation, but like before, they all refused to answer. Lucy, Logan and Brooke were helping throughout, with Lucy and Logan trying to keep the journalists away, while Brooke helped James and Kendall navigate through the crowd and as they approached the front door, James couldn't help the sigh of relief that left his mouth. Dak was the next person into the house, with Henry following behind. Of course, nothing is ever that simple in the Diamond household, and all it took to derail this moment was one simple question from an ignorant journalist.

"Mr Diamond, Mr Diamond sir, how will having a faggot as a son impact your campaign for governor and will you be making an example out of the boy?" the journalist asked, causing Henry to immediately stop in his tracks. All the shouting that was previously occurring stopped with the journalists finally knowing that they'd get an answer out of one of them, and as Mr Diamond turned around, he was trying his hardest to keep his composure, not letting his anger over the insult get the better of him.

Straightening his suit jacket out, something that had become habit for him now, Mr Diamond approached the journalists once more, this time keeping eye contact with the journalist who asked the question. Everyone was curious as to what was going to be said, with Lucy, Brooke, Logan, James and Kendall all sticking around so that they could hear the response to the question. Clearing his throat, Mr Diamond finally began to speak.

"Firstly, I'd like it if you didn't address my son in such a derogatory way. He's no different from you or I, and just because he loves a man doesn't mean that you or anyone has the right to insult him with such ease" Mr Diamond started, his voice firm, clear and loud as it rattled through the journalists. The one who had asked the question had gone pale by this point, knowing that he had done serious wrong, and that he was going to pay for it. Henry was still only making eye contact with him, making the man feel about as big as an ant as he was spoken down to.

"Secondly, this will have an impact on my campaign yes, but not the one everyone is expected. I don't care if my son is gay, straight or whatever, all I know is that he is my son, and that I will do anything to protect him and the one he loves." Henry said before quickly glancing back to James before he continued. "And therefore, I am going to focus my campaign on making sure that he, and everyone out there who is gay or lesbian feel welcome in our state, and are not prosecuted or antagonised for who they love. I will make sure that they have the same rights and freedoms as any other 'normal citizen' because guess what, they are normal as well. Now, all of you, get the hell off of my estate before I force you off" Henry finally finished, straightening his suit jacket once more before turning around, now facing away from the journalists.

Of course, as soon as that happened, a flurry of questions reached his ear, with all of the journalists now wanting more. Henry ignored them all as he walked back to the front doors of the house, and with one final shout of the word 'leave!" he slammed the front doors of the house, finally removing them from the public eye. As soon as that was done, James launched himself at his father, giving the older man a massive hug for what he had said.

"Thank you" James mumbled as Henry patted him on the back.

"No need to thank me son, I was only speaking the truth. I love you, and nothing is going to change that" Henry replied, hugging James back tightly.

* * *

While Kendall was tremendously grateful that James had taught him to read, there were some times where he seriously regretted that choice, and this was one of them. The newspapers over the last couple of weeks since he was realised from jail were filled with nothing but slander and insults about him, James and the entire Diamond family. Mr Diamond's statement about supporting James no matter what as well as advocating for gay rights had caused a shit storm that had no only swept through the whole state but the whole country.

The Diamond's had received a number of business withdrawals from companies that didn't support Henry's claim, as well as a bunch of threats that were posted. With this case however, the family had also received an astonishing amount of support from the gay community, with then sending letters thanking Mr Diamond for what he was doing, as well as congratulating James and Kendall for their love. Really, the entire country was divided at the moment but none of them let that put a stop to their campaign, leading them to this current moment. Kendall sighed as he put down the newspaper he was holding, fed up of the negativity he was reading, but luckily, he was greeted with the sight of James shirtless, causing him to relax a little bit.

"You don't have to do this you know" Kendall said from his position on James' bed, watching as the brunet reached for the shirt that was hanging from his wardrobe. "Your father said that if you don't want to get involved you don't have too"

"I know, but I want too" James replied, turning towards Kendall before sliding his shirt over his head and pulling it down over his chest. "My father's been doing this for us, and I feel like I should be doing something back for him, even if it is just a speech" James replied, causing Kendall to flash James a small smile.

"I know, I just thought I'd offer you one more out before this thing does ahead. I know how impulsive you can be" the blond replied, watching as James now slide his blazer on.

"Impulsive?" James asked, as he walked over to the bed, seemingly harmlessly. Of course, as soon as he approached, he picked Kendall up, bridal style, causing the blond to let out a chuckle as he squirmed in James' arms. "I have no idea what you mean" James continued, before placing a chaste kiss onto Kendall's lips, one that wasn't apparently enough for the blond by the way he wrapped his arms around James' neck in order to pull the brunet closer. Their kiss only lasted for a couple of seconds, before James threw Kendall back down onto the bed jokingly, causing Kendall to let out another chuckle. "Besides, I'm doing this for you as well you know"

"For me? But James, you've already done enough for me over the past two years"

"I know, but imagine it, the two of us walking through the streets, hand in hand without having to worry about anything. Or the two of us eating in a restaurant together, without the fear of being caught as lovers. I want to give that you to Kendall." James continued, his hazel eyes flaring with emotion as he spoke, the whole time keeping eye contact with Kendall.

"I love you so much" Kendall replied, causing the smile on James' face to grow further.

"I love you so much too" James replied, Kendall blushing at the remark, causing James to let out a chuckle. "So, back onto the serious topic, how do I look?" James asked, causing Kendall to roll his eyes playfully.

"You look amazing" Kendall responded, just before a knock at the door occurred.

"Come in" James shouted, before reaching for the door handle and opened it himself, revealing Camille.

"They're ready for you" She said, causing James to nod as he took a deep breathe. "You've got this, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know, I'm just a little nervous" James replied, as he and Kendall followed Camille out of the room, hand in hand, with Kendall giving him a few squeezes to show his support.

"You'll be great, don't worry" Kendall added, causing James to smile down at him as they began their descent down the staircase to the front doors. Everyone was gathered, watching as the brunet walked down the stairs, with each of them wearing a smile on their faces to show their support for him. That helped calm James' nerves slightly, especially when he gazed upon Logan and Carlos who were stood there hand in hand. The two of them gave James a brief but supportive nod, helping boost his confidence and it also helped that as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, Jennifer rushed over to him and pulled him into a big hug.

"You've got this sweetie. Just go out there and be yourself" she said, before pecking him on the cheek, causing him to blush slightly.

"Now, your Mum and Dad are already out there, and everyone's waiting for you, so go and give em hell" Lucy said as she took hold of the door handle, causing James to straighten out his blazer, something he'd picked up from his father. "You've got this James"

With that being said, the front door of the house was opened to reveal a crowd of a hundred people, maybe even more, who were all cheering as soon as they saw him approach. The size of the crowd unsettled his nerves massively, but their cheering also helped calm him slightly, so taking another deep breath, he walked towards the microphone that was waiting for him. The crowd continued to cheer the entire time, and when he glanced over to his right, he saw how Henry and Brooke where stood there, hand in hand with massive smiles on their faces.

With a new burst of confidence, James spoke up.

"Two years ago, my entire life was flipped upside down when, while I didn't know it at the time, I met the love of my life. Our meeting was a simple one, like any other two people meeting and yet from that moment on, my life was completely altered. The more I got to know him, the more I realised that I wanted to be with him and that I wanted to give him everything that I could. Now, for some reason, this makes me different from everyone else in the world in love. Just because I've fallen in love with a guy, apparently it means that I'm liable for insult and prosecution, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let that stand. Him and I were separated because of the war but our loved survived it and became as strong as ever, so I'm doing to be damned if I'm going to let some bigoted idiots stop us now" James began, causing the crowd to cheer and applaud as he spoke, his confidence quickly growing.

"Now, I've been terribly lucky as I've got the privilege of a mother and a father that fully support me and that love me no matter what, but I don't want this to be a privilege. I want everyone to be loved by their mothers and fathers, despite who they love, and I want everyone to feel welcome within society. I want everyone to feel comfortable in their own home and in the streets, without having to hide who they are, and if you agree, then please vote for my father. He's been so great throughout all of this, and I know he's not going to stop until everyone is equal and treated fairly. Until everyone can walk down the street, hand in hand with their loved ones, because that's the world I've promised my boyfriend, and that's the world I want us to live in. Thank you" James finished, causing the whole crowd to erupt into applause, a massive smile growing on his face.

Of course, it only made it better when he turned to see Kendall staring at him with eyes filled with so much love. As an impulse, Kendall ran out to James, and engulfed the brunet in a hug, causing the crowd to erupt even further with applause and cheering. Although, to the two of them, it was like they were completely alone, nothing else mattering when they were in each other's arms.

"I love you" Kendall whispered, causing James to chuckle as he placed a kiss onto Kendall's forehead.

"I love you too" James replied, as they held in other in their arms, completely content in that moment.

* * *

 **So there we have it! Kendall was realised from Jail, and Henry has decided to advocate for gay rights during his campaign to be governor! They was also a few Kames moments in it, with the two of them realising now in love with each other they are!**

 **I want to say a massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11 and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter and thank you all for welcoming me back! It was so strange not uploading for three weeks I have to admit, and I'm so grateful of your support once again! Also, I'm glad you all enjoyed the chapter, and you all seemed to love the fact that Henry is in full support of the two of them, and that really shows in this chapter as well! Also, to answer RainbowDiamond's question, I never really thought about it, but if we're being honest, it probably doesn't matter as the two of them are still going to sneak around at night anyway 😜**

 **So, like I said at the top, this is the penultimate chapter of this story, with next week's being a short epilogue to conclude everything! Basically, when I was writing this, I realised that I was starting to get a little uninspired and I was finding it difficult to write for the day like I used to. So with that being said, I decided to end the story here, in a place that I was happy with, instead of forcing myself to write some more chapter that most definitely would not have been the best! Also, like I said a while back this story is probably going to be replaced with Blizzard, which I am really looking forward to writing as it will be something new!**

 **Anyway, this Thursday you will definitely get the next chapter of Rush and Response, and I hope you all have a great Christmas/holiday season, and that you all have a great day tomorrow! Anyway, I will see you Thursday, but until then,**

 **TTFN 😃🎄**


	34. Chapter 34: Epilogue

**Hi Guys and welcome to the final chapter of Class Vs Character! It's only a short one, but I feel like it wraps up this story nicely, so let's crack on with it shall we?**

* * *

Looking back on it now, both Kendall and James realised what a difficult journey it was for them to get to this point, and with the exception of Kendall being sent to war, neither of them would change it. As the sat in the summer house, overlooking the lake through the French doors, much like their tradition, they both reflected on the news that James' dad had been elected for the Governor of California. And sure, they both knew that the battle wasn't over just yet, and that Henry would have to work twice as hard to try and get the legislation in place to make their love, as well as any other same-sex love 'legal' but they also knew that they were one step closer to the perfect future that James had promised Kendall.

Snuggled up on the sofa together, the two of them began to reflect on the past two years of their life, right from the moment they met. Kendall, the recently unemployed stable hand who was demanding his wages from the Morgan's butler and James, his saviour, the man that offered a job despite the fact that he knew nothing about the blond at all.

"You know, from the moment I met you, I knew you were special." James spoke out loud, causing a blush to grow on Kendall's cheeks. James didn't even need to look to know that it was there, he just knew the blond so well. "It was like I was drawn to you, like there was something about you that I wanted more of. I wanted to spend as much time with you as a I could, and it's mostly why I hired you"

"Not my high quality work?" Kendall teased back, before looking up at James and seeing the sincerity in his eyes. "For me it was the train journey here. As soon as you spoke to me at the station, and let me sit with you in first class, I knew there was something different about you. You were just so kind about everything, and were so nice to me when you had no reason to be" Kendall replied, causing James to shake his head.

"I had every reason to be" he responded, causing Kendall to snuggle into him closer. "Comfy?" James chuckled to himself at the blond's action, and when he felt Kendall nod into his side, he couldn't help the way his heart swelled with happiness.

Being as careful as possible not to move Kendall, James reached over and grabbed the throw from the back of the sofa before throwing it over the two of them, in order to keep them warm. Watching as the sun set, the both of them had never felt more content and more loved in their life. Both sets of parents approved of their relationship, as did everyone in the house, relieving all sorts of pressure from the pair of them, and to make it so much better, they no longer had to hide their love for each other. They could both show their love and affection for each other, without any fear of backlash within the house, and hopefully soon enough, they'd be able to do it in public as well.

With one final kiss onto Kendall's forehead from James, they both feel into a blissful sleep, ready to welcome the next morning.

* * *

"Kendall, you've got some post here. Actually, you've got two pieces" Katie announced as Kendall and James walked into the kitchen the next morning, ready for breakfast.

"Who's it from?" Kendall asked, causing Katie to shrug as she placed the letters in front of him.

"Don't know, that's why you open it"

"Katie!" Jennifer scolded the girl due to her sarcasm.

"What? It's true" Katie replied, shrugging once again causing James and Lucy to share a chuckle at her remark.

"In all fairness, she is right" James whispered into Kendall's ear, causing the blond to playfully swat him before grabbing the first letter and opening it. While Kendall was doing that, Jennifer and Carlos placed some dishes down on the table, causing them all to dive in quickly, with James being no exception.

"It's from Gustavo and Kelly" Kendall announced, causing James to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Isn't that the guy you were stationed with?"

"Yeah" Kendall replied, as he read over the letter. "He says that the news of the two of us reached the UK, and that he's glad that I made it home safely. He says that I look really happy in the photo that's being shown in the newspapers and that he's glad I've got someone who makes me look like that. He also says that he and his wife are ok and that they're gaining a new member of the family" Kendall finished, before looking at the photo that was attached to it. The two of them looked really happy, and it was clear from the photo that Kelly was pregnant, causing a smile to grow on his face. "I'm so happy for them!" Kendall said as he glanced over at James, who was reading the letter over his shoulder, a small smile present on his face as well. With that letter being opened and read, Kendall opened the second one only to be greeted with another surprise. "It's from Freight Train" Kendall announced this time, the smile on his face growing as he read the letter.

As eager as the blond was James asked "What does it say?" causing Kendall to let you a chuckle.

"The same sort of thing as Gustavo's and Kelly's, that he heard about us in the news and that he's really happy for us." Kendall replied, James reading the letter over his shoulder as well. "It's just nice to hear from them" Kendall continued, causing James to nod.

"And I'm sure they'd love to hear from you as well, so come on, let's eat some breakfast, and then we…you can write a response!" James replied, having to amend what he was saying when he noticed that Kendall had raised his eyebrow at him.

"James, you know I have to work, I'll just write a response later"

"Oh come on, I'm sure Camille can cope for a couple of hours by herself."

"I see how it is! Your boyfriend gets special privileges and I get an additional workload?" Camille replied, her tone teasing, causing James to nod.

"That's exactly what it's like" he joked back, before playing a kiss onto Kendall's forehead, causing the blond to blush. "Now come on, eat up!"

"You're more excited about this than I am" Kendall responded, causing James to chuckle as he moved his mouth to Kendall's ear. The breath on the back of his neck caused his hairs to stand upright and James' words didn't help that one bit.

"There's other things I've got planned for those two hours as well" James whispered, causing Kendall to shiver, while his dick reacted to the words.

With a semi that was being hidden from the table, Kendall whispered "I hate you" causing James to let out a chuckle.

"I love you too" James replied, draping his arm across Kendall's shoulders before planting a kiss into his hair.

Kendall instantly dissolved into the action, his head now resting on James' shoulder as he reflected on how lucky he truly was.

* * *

 **So there we have it, a shorter chapter but I think it's a nice one to round off the story with. So, we had Henry win the election, which is nice, and we also had Kames reflecting on the moment they realised they were falling for each other! I thought it would be nice to reminisce, especially because all of that stuff happened so long ago now! We then had Kendall get a few letter from Gustavo and Freight Train, just to round everything off, and show Kendall that they were all ok!**

 **So I want to give a massive thank you to all of you for reading this story, as well as a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for not only reviewing the last chapter, but every single chapter! Your support is so appreciate, and I cannot thank you enough for spending the time letting me know what you thought of the chapters! I always love getting your reviews and seeing what you thought, so thank you so much for all of that!**

 **I will see you Thursday for the next chapter of Rush & Response, and next Monday will begin the continuation of Blizzard, which I am really looking forward to sharing with you all! So much so that you might be getting a chapter later today, but I'm not entirely sure just yet, so keep an eye out! But until then,**

 **TTFN 😃**


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